Topic Sheet – Fun Math Activities for Parents to Prevent the Summer Slide — with thanks to Jennifer Harrison for this resource
Tips and ideas for parents with young children (PreK-6) to practice math, boost skills, AND have fun

Excerpt:

Thursday, May 17, 2018 — For stories on the Summer Slide, math education experts at ORIGO Education have compiled a list of activities and resources for parents to do with their young children.?

The Summer Slide is a very real issue, especially in mathematics instruction where students lose an average of 2.6 months of learning.

Quotes
From Debi DePaul, elementary mathematics consultant from ORIGO Education

  • “Summer is an ideal time to mix fun with learning. Parents can mix up math in the kitchen, on the sidewalk, even at the beach!”
  • “All children, but especially young children, need to keep practicing math in summer. But, this practice time should be fun!”
  • “Parents can turn playtime into learning time with some simple tweaks on the classic games and toys.”
  • “The best math activities involve using multiple senses like smell and touch. This multisensory play time cements deeper understanding of fundamental math skills like recognizing proportions, estimation skills, measurement skills, and number sense.”

…

Additional Ideas 

  1. Download the ORIGO EducationNum Fu apps in addition, subtraction, multiplication or division for free on the App Store.
  2. Sort, Count and Stack Legos – Sort Legos by color or shape. Stack and measure height of different Lego stacks.
  3. Mix and Match Buttons – Group buttons by color. Make piles of 5 and 10 and add.
  4. Grocery Store – Make lists with quantities needed. Count and subtract from a list as items are added to the cart.
  5. Egg Carton – Mark egg carton slots 1-12. Insert two marbles, close the lid and shake. Open and add the two numbers together wherever the marbles land. Numbers can also be multiplied or subtracted.
  6. Tell time using a clock with hands.
  7. Practice adding and subtracting with Monopoly money.
  8. Use different shaped geometric shaped cookie cutters to cut and make patterns in Play-doh
  9. Sculpt 3-dimensional shapes
  10. License Plate road games: Add up total numbers or closest to a target number
  11. Play card games like Blackjack
  12. Count dots on a group of Dominos and add, match dots on groups of 2s, 3s and so on
  13. Play Cribbage
  14. Visit a museum and create number- or shape-themed scavenger hunts