3 Summer Math Activities: Combating the Summer Slide

Last blog post we defined the summer slide and discussed how Mathnasium can help students avoid it by staying engaged with math throughout the summer. Today, we are going to give you 7 summer math activities that family members can do with students to help them keep their math skills sharp and math brains churning all summer long.

Play a Card or Board Game

Who said learning math couldn't be fun? There are plenty of games that have been designed with math learning in mind, but it doesn't need to be. Choose any game you already enjoy playing that includes points, money, or strategic thinking—which gives you an awful lot of options! Look for ways to layer math talk on top of the game:

• What strategy did you use?
• How would your score change if you had made this move instead?
• What types of game decisions take the most time to decide on?

Cook or Bake Together

This includes critical thinking skills such as following directions and attending to precision, but it also includes specific mathematical skills such as arithmetic and ratios. While cooking or baking, call attention to mathematical questions and decisions. You can ask questions such as:

• Do we need more or less flour?
• How much sugar would we need if we were to cut the recipe in half?
• How much longer should it stay in the oven?

Analyze Sports

Sports are full of math. For younger students, the activity can be as simple as adding up goals, identifying shapes, or discussing the difference between 2- and 3-point shots. As you watch together, be sure to ask math-minded questions such as “Who has more points?”

For students who are older, look for examples of statistics, decisions that can be modeled using equations, and strategies that can elicit deeper mathematical discussion.