The square root of FUN!

I read a quote about math recently:

“Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things.”

I started thinking how true this is - and how true I could make it with creative activities over the summer that would teach/reinforce math in my family's daily routine. Basically, we would simply give "math" a different name. Oh yeah...and make it fun!

1. Spending in the Summer: We use this time to show and teach the value of money. It's easy to want to go and do everything when the kids are out of school, but helping them understand how much trips, activities, and other items cost helps them begin to understand the value of a dollar.

2. Create Budgets: You can do this with both young and older kids. Set goals for what they are saving for, but also give them options along the way to help them understand if they want to do other things, how long it takes to get back to goal amount.

3. Saving Incentives: Start a matching program! For every $.50 they save, you donate $.50 to their savings too. This helps motivate all ages!

4. Create "junior investors": Give your child a pretend dollar amount, $10,000 for example, and let them "invest" for a hypothetical portfolio for the family. Help them look at stocks and decide where they would like to invest the money, how much and find out why. Help them track it every day - up and down. At the end of their investment period, they can use their math skills to figure out how much money your hypothetical portfolio is now worth.

5. Shopping Time: Set a budget for the store, make a list of what is needed and have the kids find a way - with math - to stay at or under budget. All you do is accompany them, they do the shopping. If they stay under budget, set a reward for the family to enjoy! Ice cream trips are a GREAT reward for everyone.

It's amazing the ways and places you can find to make math part of your daily routine - and your kids don't even realize how much they're learning!