Celebrate the Season with an extra rewarding Sweet Treat and extra reward Stars!

The holidays are the perfect time to make math practical at home with your family! There are recipes to be made—where those fractions come in handy, gifts to be bought—where mental math and budgeting are your best friends, and gifts to be wrapped—where geometry concepts come into play. 

The activities you can do with your child are endless, and you finally have the time off together to do them. Here is an idea. Come into our Center and pick up our gingerbread house recipe (or print your own) that includes a fun math activity for upper elementary school kids and above. Bake up a (snow)storm, then post a picture on our Facebook page to get extra punches on your cards.

Remember, whether you’re preparing a 7 course holiday feast or making a simple recipe, make sure your child's time in the kitchen with you is fun and shows the practical side of math!

Here are a few tips for making math practical in the kitchen:

1. Read the recipe first together to make sure you both understand what ingredients you’ll need, and what steps will be taken.
2. Ask your child to collect the ingredients for the recipe on their own, and have them count out loud as they add each ingredient.
3. Pretend you only have one type of measuring cup and ask them to convert the amounts using only that measuring cup. 
4. Change up ingredient amounts using proportional thinking – for example, if you’re making holiday cookies, and the recipe calls for 2 ½ cups of flour, ask your child to make a half batch, and convert all the ingredients accordingly.
5. Ask your child to tell you how much the recipe costs by calculating the amount used of each ingredient vs. the total amount bought, using the store prices.
6. For older students, ask them to inventory the ingredients and see how many servings would be possible using what you have on hand.

Older students can also convert the cooking time from Fahrenheit to Celsius, or vice versa.
Remember to keep it fun and positive – boost your child’s confidence and they’ll be eager to help in the kitchen putting their math skills to use all year long!

Remember, math is not only relevant in a classroom setting – make it practical and fun at home as you enjoy this holiday season with your family!

Do YOU have any fun holiday math-related activities you do with your family? Let us know in the comments, or share them with us on Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #holidaymath!

Contact:

Ruby Yao and Benedict Zoe, Mathnasium of Fort Lee
201-969-6284 (WOW-MATH), [email protected]
246 Main St. #A
Fort Lee, NJ 07024

Happily serving communities of Cliffside Park, Edgewater, Fort Lee, Leonia, Palisades Park, North Bergen, West New York, and Fairview.