With schools in Tallahassee, throughout Florida and South Georgia closing for extended periods of time, many parents may be asking what they can do with their children to fill the time in a meaningful and educational way? Basically, how do you avoid two weeks of screen time and video games?
The Mathnasium of Tallahassee team has several ideas that help create family time together that can still be math and academically beneficial. There are also card games that you can play with family and friends via Facetime, Skype or other online communication tools if you’re practicing social distancing. These are some of the games we use for our online video conferencing math tutoring through Mathnasium of Tallahassee’s @Home instruction.
Board and Card Games
Over the break, plan for family game time. Break out the board and card games. Children will have fun playing, while also improving numerical fluency, logic, and application of probability. Choose games that use money, keep a running score, and require strategy. Playing together is a great way to bond with your child. Some of our favorite games for developing math skills are Monopoly, Blokus, blackjack, Scrabble, chess, and Life.
Some of the favorite math card games of Mathletes at Mathnasium of Tallahassee include Addition War, Multiplication War, What’s My Number, and Concentration. These are also games that can be done via Facetime, Skype or other online conference call type platforms.
Plus, a “game night” can involve other games related to problem solving and logic such as chess, connect four and others.
Make Your Own Games
At our Mathnasium of Tallahassee learning center we create our games. We will make multiplication bingo games that students can play. Or, you can identify shapes and have a scavenger hunt throughout your home as children try to identify how many of each shape they can find.
Plan a Virtual Trip
From map skills to schedule planning to budgeting, travel planning provides multiple ways to integrate math conversations. Think of it as a word problem exercise. “If we’re leaving at 10 a.m., and we will be traveling 70 miles per hour for 140 miles, what time will we arrive at our destination?”
During this time, you can plan a virtual trip and when things settle down, you’ll have your itinerary ready for a real trip.
Cooking and Baking
There are many math skills used in cooking and baking. Following a recipe introduces math concepts, such as sequencing and counting. Young chefs will learn to measure precisely for baking and to estimate when a recipe says season “to taste.” Children who are beginners in the kitchen, can start with simple recipes.
As students move to the next level, they can be challenged by scaling or converting recipes. Scaling a recipe means changing the amount that the recipe will make. Scaling requires thinking proportionally, a prerequisite for algebra. If children are scaling a baking recipe, they may need to and the cooking time. Converting a recipe means changing it from metric units to standard units or visa-versa.
From the Mathnasium of Tallahassee family, stay safe...
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