Combat Boredom on Long Car Rides with Family Math Activities
Long car rides are a drag. Bored kids make every minute feel like an hour as they whine, bicker, and complain. Some parents resort to electronics to keep kids entertained, but many kids already have too much screen time. Mathnasium of Parker suggests you turn off the electronics, turn on the brain, and engage in some math fun. These 3 math activities, for ages three and up, activities inspire creativity and combat boredom.
License Plate/ Signs Games
Ages 3-5 Identify as many different numbers on license plate and signs as possible.
Ages 6-8 Add up all the digits on a license plate or sign.
Ages 9-12 Pick any number under 50. See if the kids can use the digits on the license plates or signs to get to the number you chose by adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. Let’s say you pick the number 44. If they see the numbers are 8, 9, and 4 on a sign, they could say 4 x 9= 36 +8 =44. After successfully getting 3 signs or license plates, choose a new number.
Ages 12 + Same activity as ages 9-12 but chose a higher number and let them use the numbers as exponents.
Scenery Race
Ages 3-5 Count how many horses and trucks (actual objects should depend on the current scenery) you see in the next five minutes. Which object “won” the race? Were there more horses or trucks?
Ages 6-8 Same activity as for ages 3-5, but with a twist. Instead of counting specific items, think of creative categories. Some examples of possible categories are: “things that roll,” “things that breathe,” or “things bigger than your car.”
Ages 9-12 Use the idea of ages 6-8, but they have to count the objects in groupings. For example if the category was “things that are brown” first they would find 1 brown cow alone, then 2 brown trucks together, then 3 brown buildings, and so on.
Ages 12+ Calculate the cars exact distance traveled between two objects based on the average speed of the car.
Counting Game
Ages 3-5 Take turns counting by ones. Your child says “one” and then you say “two” then your child says “three” and so on. See how high you can go.
Ages 6-8 Take turns counting by 2s, but any number that has a 0 in it like 10, 20, and 30 say “bing!” instead of the number. Anyone who says the number instead of “bing!” gets a point. See how high the family can count before anyone gets 5 points. Then change the number the “bing” represents or change the amount you are counting by.
Ages 9-12 Take turns counting by 3s, but any number that is a multiple of 9 say “bing!” instead of the number. Anyone who says the number instead of “bing!” gets a point. See how high the family can count before anyone gets 5 points. Then change the number the “bing” represents or change the amount you are counting by.
Ages 12+ Take turns counting backwards by 3s, starting with 1,000 but any number that is a multiple of 9 say “bing!” instead of the number. Anyone who says the number instead of “bing!” gets a point. See how high the family can count before anyone gets 5 points. Then change the number the “bing” represents or change the amount you are counting by. For a real challenge have them say “bing” in place of a prime number.
Make up Your Own
At Mathnasium of Parker we love math games. We’d love to know what creative math games you come up with to pass the time on long trips. No matter what you do during the holidays, don’t forget to incorporate math! This way your kiddos are ready to go when school starts back up in January! Remember, too, Mathnasium of Parker is open over break. It's a great time to come in and get some math gaps filled in!
This article was written by and owned by Cuttlefish Copywriting, www.cuttlefishcopywriting.com . It is copyright protected. Mathnasium of Parker has permission to use it. Other Mathnasium locations should contact Heather at [email protected] before using it.
