Old Magazines Become Interest-Driven Math Tools

Key Lime Pie, Muscles & More

Preparing key lime pie with little helpers, I realized our taste buds and our handwriting skills would benefit from our efforts. Little fingers reach for half a key lime, then squeeze citrus juice into a bowl, a perfect way for our littles to help prepare treats in the kitchen and strengthen fine motor skills needed to write. Thirty-five key limes later, we were ready to mix--another opportunity to strengthen muscles!

We strengthened muscles but we also built conversation skills and did a little learning. Here is what we did:

• We compared the size, color, and taste of key limes to oranges, limes, grapefruits, and lemons. Order by size. (Math, Science)
• Defined and discussed spheres in regards to the citrus. Found other spheres around the house.
• Measure the circumferences of several types of citrus with a string. Then measure the strings on a ruler to compare circumferences. Lay strings in order, shortest to longest. (Math)
• Count the fruit sections of an orange, lime, key lime, grapefruit, and lemon. Are they the same or different? (Math, Critical Thinking)
• Read the book Each Orange Had 8 Slices, Paul Giganti, Jr. 
• Draw still life pictures of the fruit, practicing shading techniques. (Art)
• Set the oven at 375 degrees. Write the temperature on a piece of paper using numbers and degrees symbol. (Math)
• Set a kitchen timer for the length of time the pie will bake. Write the ending time on the piece of paper with the oven temperature.(Math) 
• When the pie cools, discuss the definitions of diameter and radius. Measure the diameter of the cooled pie. Divide by 2 to find the radius. (Math)

Looking for ways to connect preparing snacks and meals to learning for your littles? Check out my resource, Flip Three Pancakes with One Spatula.

Pattern Blocks

"Where did you get these books?" 

A newer to homeschooling mom asked.

These resources were the treasures I collected at my very first homeschooling conventions and used curriculum sales. Twenty years an counting, the pattern block books (along with the tangram materials) remain some of our family learning favorites. Buckets of pattern blocks, wooden or plastic, contain green equilateral triangles, blue rhombi, tan rhombi, orange squares, red trapezoids, and yellow hexagons. Pattern blocks teach concepts in patterning and geometry as well as fractions.

Earlier this week a little learner pulled the bucket of wooden pattern blocks and Animal Patterns from our resource closet.

We found other great ideas online. Giant pattern blocks for the littlest learners. Older learners may desire more complex patterns and puzzles.

Our learners played for at least an hour, using templates and then designing their own geometric creations. Pattern blocks, once again, helped make math real!

Adding pattern block ideas to my Pinterest boards for those who follow!

Other geometry favorites here. 

Tangram Fun

Thinking skills. Geometric concepts. Reasoning. 

Tangrams offer multiple dimensions to learning fun.

I remember one of my very first convention experiences. The hall was packed with aisle after aisle of hands-on learning materials. Tangrams. Counting bears. Balance scales. Letter tiles. Microscopes. Snap cubes. Pattern blocks.

Tangrams were one of our first purchases. We've loved learning with them for over 20 years.

Today, the internet makes it possible to print tangrams on colored card stock at lunch, cut apart the basic shapes, and enjoy geometric thinking and problem solving during afternoon free time. Fast. Fun.

Each basic tangram set (sometimes called the Chinese tangram puzzle) includes 7 pieces: 5 isosceles right triangles, 1 square, and 1 parallelogram. The area of the large triangle is twice the area of the medium triangle, and the area of the medium triangle is twice the area of the small triangle. The angles of the shapes are either 45, 90 or 135 degrees. Pieces are used to create objects, from cats to boats. Solutions are endless, encouraging and cultivating thinking and problem solving.

Over the span of 20 years (many of those without the internet, sigh!) we have used many resources; many remain available:

• Tangrams: 330 Puzzles, Ronald C. Read
• Sam Loyd's Book of Tangrams, Sam Loyd
• Tangramables, Martschi
• The Tangram Zoo and Word Puzzles, Too! Bette Stevens

Real-Life Learning: Teaching Elapsed Time

"Mom, can I use your phone?"

"We want to see how long it takes to get home!"

Elapsed time. A very abstract concept for a concrete six-year-old learner. The concept is often taught on paper with a story problem:

Emily is baking chocolate cake. The cake must bake for 38 minutes. If Emily puts the cake in the oven at 2:15 pm, what time will she need to take the cake out of the oven?

Most children learn elapsed time by this manner. This is a necessary piece of the elapsed time puzzle. However, there is another piece many parents and teachers miss. Internal, personal understanding of elapsed time is not something that can taught on paper. It must be experienced, not just once, but many times. Understanding this part of the elapsed time concept is a necessity for life. Without it, time management is nearly impossible.

"Don't start the car yet! I have to set the time. When I tell you, turn the key."

Seconds later I was told to start the car. The stop watch on my phone ticking away, I pulled out of the parking space. Heads craned around confining seat belts (though we were excited about learning, I reminded learners they must remain in their seat belts). Shouts of learning excitement filled the car.

"It's two minutes thirty seconds!" An older learner shouted. Little learner listened, as the digital numbers were read orally; another important skill.

"Now it's four minutes twenty-nine seconds!"

Six minutes forty-two seconds later, we pulled in the driveway. 

We experienced lapsed time, visually, auditorily, and kinesthetically.

We unpacked groceries and learners had more ideas:

• How long will it take to fill a gallon milk jug with water, faucet open as far as possible?
• How long will it take for a marble to roll down the KNEX ramp?
• How long will it take me to get dressed?
• How long will it take for water to boil?
• How long will it take for the clothes to dry in the dryer?  or Is the time on the dryer dial accurate?
• How long will it take for us to get to the library? Does it take longer to go to the library than to the grocery store? (Comparison of time is the next level of elapsed time. Write down each elapsed digital time and subtract to find the difference.We do this every day! )

Teaching elapsed time can be fun and relative to life.

It can also help children and young adults plan their days well. Will I have enough time to brush my teeth and still read an extra paragraph before emptying the dishwasher for mom? Will I have time to stop for gas and still get to work on time? 

If you are looking for ways to make take math off paper for little learners ages 4 through 8, you may find A Month of Math: Measurement or A Month of Math: Geometry helpful resources.

Measuring in Snickers

Have you ever measured in Snickers?

Young children, generally preschoolers, often learn to measure in non-standard (inconsistent) measurements before they measure in standard (consistent) measurements. Non-standard units might be blocks or perhaps toy cars.

Why not Snickers?

Seeing a little learner build a tower of blocks, a not-so-little learner remembered an extra Snickers bar in the cabinet.

"We could measure the tower of blocks with the Snickers!"

Brilliant!

Now EVERYONE was engaged!

Yes, we could.

Within seconds we discovered the little learner's tower was two Snickers tall.

Soon we were measuring the lengths of books and tables, and then the height of the kitchen counter.

"The book is three Snickers long. The table is 15 Snickers long."

"Five books would be as long as the table."

Math was fun!

Drawing visual representations helped conceptualize the measurement.

Before too long, a not-so-little learner asked the question I knew would surface eventually.

"How long is the Snickers?"

Get the ruler.

End-to-end, not including the wrapper, the Snickers measured in at just a one-sixteenth short of four inches.

Wonderful. Now for a discussion on "approximate length", followed by the conclusion drawn by one little learner.

"If the Snickers is four inches long, then the block tower is eight inches tall!"

Absolutely!

We understand. 

I realized our Snickers would be a great motivator for learning our "fours" (multiplication tables). Again, an object of interest (the Snickers bar) was the perfect motivation for learning. Boy, did we learn those facts quickly...not soon to be forgotten either!

1 Snickers bar is 4 inches long                                            1x4=4
2 Snickers bars is 8 inches long                                          2x4=8
3 Snickers bars is 12 inches long (yes, one foot!)                3x4=12
4 Snickers bars is 16 inches long                                        4x4=16

and so on...

Our last Snickers measuring experience involved dividing the bar up evenly. Since we found the Snickers to be four inches long and there were four people with whom to divide the treat, it was easy to figure each person would receive one inch of Snickers (and let me tell you, this part of the measurement was deemed the most accurate of the day since everyone wanted to make sure the bar was divided evenly). But what if the bar needed to be divided into five parts, or even six? That take division to the remainder level! We didn't have to go there.

Several important lessons were learned:

• Visual pictures or representations help visual learners create a mental picture of a specific unit of measure; in our case the approximate length of four inches. I have found this helpful in my children as well as children I have tutored. Later when estimation becomes a necessary life skill, the visual representation will have created the immediate association. For example, my children "know" the approximate area of one square inch because they know a small square cheese cracker (picture Cheez-It) is approximately one square inch.
• If you don't have a ruler or yard stick (standard unit of measure), be resourceful and use what you have (a string, a foot, an arm's length).
• One concept can be used to learn another.

Now for another curious question raised by a curious learner.

If a Snickers bar is 4 inches long, is a Milky Way the same length?

Guess we need to find out!

Skittles Math

Skittles, 49 cents at the local Walgreens.

Breakfast dishes in the dishwasher. Mom has a surprise!

Bag opens. Mom pulls out five small bags of .....SKITTLES! 

Time for Skittle math. 

First we sorted the colors. The littlest learners loved this!

We counted.

Then we used mom's circle cutter to cut out construction paper circles in corresponding colors.

Then we graphed the colors. 

Oh no! Problem!

13 circles don't fit on the paper.

One learner's solution: 

one circle = 2 Skittles

1/2 circle = 1 Skittle

Problem solved!

Counted and graphed.

We discovered of the five bags of Skittles we opened (each child had their own bag), two bags contained 61 Skittles and three bags contained 62 Skittles. I asked the children to look at the weights on the bags. Same weights. Interesting. 

Could a machine deposit Skittles in each bag according to weight? 

Great question asked by one learner. Others agreed this must be the case. 

One learner added Skittles of two different colors. 

Two-digit addition. Visual representation.

One learner decided to represent each color as a fraction of the whole bag. 

Each learner used their empty package to create a unique cover to their Skittles Math book. 

Sale

Interest

Math

Problem solving

Understanding

LOVE!

Measurement: My Newest Math Resource

My children are excited about Measurement, the second book in my Month of Math series.

I think your children will be, too! 

Why? 

Candy bars measure length. Rice compares quantity. Square cheese crackers teach area. 

Bicycles peddle miles. 

Measurement is real, part of life. Not a concept stuck on a page, obscure. 

The activities in this book were enjoyed in our home with objects and items we encountered every day.

We measured, drew visual representations, discovered, walked perimeters. 

Now, we understand!

Addition and Subtraction with Number Stickers

When someone gives you number stickers...

A box full of art goodies! It was Christmas. Not literally, but when you give a gaggle of girls a box of art supplies, it feels like Christmas. Smiles all around. Ideas shouted out. Just plain excitement.

At the bottom of the box I found some number stickers. I, too, had an idea! Math! That's right, math. I set the stickers aside until the excitement over the box waned. I knew my idea wouldn't fly until they had a chance to try their ideas.

Later in the afternoon, I pulled out the stickers and a piece of construction paper. Immediately I had several children asking, "What are you doing?"

"We're doing math!"

And, we did! Each child at their own level. Addition. Subtraction. Multiplication. Each child problem solving and thinking ahead to make use of the most numbers, while also carefully avoiding problems with numbers or solutions for which they had no stickers. Win. Win. For practicing math while problem solving and having a great time working with siblings to create problems. I love it when real life becomes math and math is involved in real life!

So, when life gives you number stickers (or you can purchase a pack with a 50% off JoAnns coupon), 

do math!

Side Note: As I write this blog, there is more learning happening in the kitchen! Our middle child found letter stickers in the bag and created a frog life cycle. She asked if we could find some print out or magazine pictures of tadpoles, froglets and frogs for the project she is creating. Who would have thought we could have this much learning fun with a bag of mismatched number and letter stickers?

More ideas with letter stickers, here!

Weighty Matters: Kitchen Scale FUN!

Kitchen scales bring math to life. None threatening. Almost unnoticed. Naturally. 

When our oldest was five years old we replaced our familiar preschool bucket balance scale (the simple one which determined lightest and heaviest without numerical connection) with a $9.99 kitchen scale from Walmart. The minute the box opened items were placed on the scale: a potato, a toy car, a box of tea bags, mom's slipper. Anything that could be weighed was. Even liquids were weighed, thanks to the nifty plastic bucket which could be placed on the scale. Which is heavier, the potato or the slipper? Which weighs more, a cup of sugar or a cup of rice? By the end of the day, our son knew how to read a mechanical kitchen scale, purely due to his interest in our new found measuring tool.

We've also had opportunities to use digital scales. Experiences with digital scales has offered a nonthreatening opportunities to teach greater and less than using decimals. Decimal scales also sparked an interest in adding decimals; a concept often not introduced until third or fourth grade but understandable when taught earlier with real life application.

Eighteen years and six children later, our mechanical kitchen scale continues to be one of our favorite measuring tools. Our scale introduced and helped us to express comparison of weight, measurement terminology, measurement conversion, and number operations using weight units. Perhaps one of the greatest benefits of using our scale has been our children having the opportunity to once again take math off a one dimensional page and apply it to their very active lives.


Our children want to know more about scales? Click here!

Counting by 5 with Smarties and Spree

Found a few packs of Smarties and Spree today. Instead of dividing them out freely among the masses, I decided to take math in another direction, counting by 5s. Eager (we don't make a habit of having little candies on hand), children circled.

"If each Smarty cost us 5 cents, how much would we have to pay for this little pack?" I asked.

Gears began to turn.

Seconds passed. Thoughts continued. Finally, an answer.

"85!" shouted a little learner.

We counted together in four-part harmony. Yes, indeed, 85.

Then we divided up small treats evenly.

All in all...great fun, eager learning.

A Handsomely Fabulous Way to Learn Measurement

Searching the internet, I happened across a great way to teach or to reinforce units of capacity. I love hands-on, interactive ways to teach and to learn math, so Measurement Man was right up my alley, I mean abacus.

My girls LOVED this activity which is the best I have found to teach this concept in a hands-on, concrete method.

I posted the link on the Flip Three Pancakes page of my website. If you liked Measurement Man, you will love the other activities I posted.

Chocolate + Fruit Chews = Math

All Candy 50% Off!

These signs scream math. Practical every day uses for math. And, yummy uses to boot!

Halloween two days behind us, stores in our area are posting opportunities to use practical math. 50% off $6.99, 75% off retail, and buy-one-get-two.

Reading math. Writing math. Doing math. Doesn't matter. It's all learning. Everyone gets involved. Here are some of the fun activities we've tried when chocolate and fruit chews present themselves as deals too good to pass up:

• We purchase two to four types of chocolates and survey anyone who stops by our house :) If we're really feeling generous, we ask the person which type of candy is his or her favorite and then let them eat it. We ask for the empty wrapper and then use the "trash" for our graph.

• We purchase M&M or Skittles fun packs and hand them out to whomever might want to experience math with us. (Now you know why the neighborhood kids like our house) We count, sort, pattern, add colors (or three for practice with multiple addends), subtract colors (we do that last so we can eat while we subtract), figure percentages and ratios, and even talk probability (what is the probability of choosing a red M&M from the bag?) All in all, it is a fun time for every age.

• My older children love to use math to determine whether or not they are getting a "sweet" bargain. We figure out cost (If a bag of candy costs $3.99 and the sale is 50% off, what will be pay?) and cost per unit (If the bag of fruit chews costs $2.19 and there are 50 chews per bag, what is the cost of each individual chew?). Mom makes up additional hypothetical scenarios (If you have a $10.00 bill in your pocket and the candy is $3.29 per bag, how many bags could you buy and how much change would you receive from your purchase?) This has leads to conversation about sales tax, taxable and non-taxable items, and cost per pound. Yes, we've weighed candy with a kitchen scale. Very energizing.

These yummy math ideas (and more) are compiled in my Flip Three Pancakes With One Spatula book, a resource I put together after years of hands-on math activities. Yes, my children love to eat their math. Stop by my website and click on the Flip Three Pancakes page. You will find lots of resources. ENJOY!

Learning and Life Collide: Making Yogurt

Dining at a friends home recently, the hostess inspired me as she began heating milk to make yogurt. As we visited, she told me she had been doing this for quite some time. Me, I had never tried. However, with a family of nine consuming a minimum of 3 quarts of yogurt a week, I was empowered to give the process a try. My friend shared her yogurt making wisdom--explaining the cooler method she found by trial and error to be easiest.

When I returned home, I began my first yogurt making attempt by placing "homemade cooler yogurt" into a search engine. I read. I compared. I gathered needed equipment, most of which I had. My first attempt was successful, very successful, and I realized this process was yet another example of how learning and life collide. I wanted to involve my children in the process.

The first attempt, a successful walk through for me, I decided I understood the process enough to involve my children for my second yogurt making event. I retrieved the candy thermometer (left over from our yummy lollipop making experiments) from safe storage and gave the children a quick review about the care, use, and purpose of a thermometer. They were, once again, intrigued. We attached the thermometer to the side of the pot, poured in the milk, and turned the burner on medium. Each took a turn stirring. We periodically checked the temperature of the milk, giving us repeated practice reading a thermometer. One of the children drew a thermometer with the current temperature of the milk. A great way to incorporate multiple learning modalities.

As the milk heated we prepared the canning jars and discussed the difference between pints and quarts. The oldest helpers reviewed how many pints and quarts were in a gallon. One of the children suggested we pour pints of water into our empty milk jug to see if our calculations were indeed accurate; an excellent visual for our younger learners to have a concrete experience in measurements. We followed the remaining instructions and placed our yogurt into a cooler to "culture". After eight hours of "culturing" in the cooler, we placed our fresh yogurt in the refrigerator. We were all very excited about what we had accomplished together. In fact, we were all so enthused we decided to calculate how much money we had saved by making our own yogurt. What a learning experience!

My third attempt produced yogurt which was just a tad thicker than milk. Still yummy, just runny. Trying to figure out what went wrong. However, with fresh fruit, it made great breakfast smoothies.

There are several recipes, some using milk, others using soy or powdered milk. Experiment and choose what works best for your family.

Helpful links for yogurt making:

http://thefrugalgirl.wordpress.com/2008/07/27/how-to-make-homemade-yogurt/

http://fiascofarm.com/dairy/yogurt.htm

http://www.choosing-natural-health.com/make-yogurt.html

http://livelonger.hubpages.com/hub/How_to_make_your_own_yogurt_-_An_illustrated_guide

http://cookingsimplefood.wordpress.com/2010/08/06/making-homemade-yogurt-in-a-styrofoam-cooler/

http://www.nourishingdays.com/2010/11/how-i-am-making-yogurt-right-now-the-cooler-method/

http://www.mysisterskitchenonline.com/2006/10/10/homemade-yogurtcouldnt-be-easier/

Crockpot versions:

http://ourlifesimplified.com/kitchen/all-recipes/homemade-yogurt-in-a-crockpot/

This crockpot version has become my favorite, though my ancient crockpot takes six hours on high to reach 180 degrees! Still beats having to worry about stirring in between family needs. I simply put the milk in the crockpot at 9 AM and never open the lid until 3 PM when I check the temperature and begin the cooling process. When the milk lowers to 110degrees, I add the starter, wrap in a towel and place in a cooler overnight. BEST yogurt ever! It was worth the tweaking to figure out what process worked best for our family.

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/10/you-can-make-yogurt-in-your-crockpot.html

Math in Our Lunch

We've encountered math in our lunch! Amazing how the best math lessons seem to happen spontaneously. How, you ask? Here are some examples (with some added extras for the adventurous):

• Cut deli-sliced cheese and meat into equal parts. Discuss halves, quarters, thirds. Write the fractions (to extend to the symbolic representation).
• Cut a sandwich in two equal pieces. Discuss equal and half. Write the fraction. Older children could cut sandwich into fourths. Discuss equal fractions and introduce adding fractions with like denominators.
  
• Cut rectangle slices off the end of a rectangular prism of cheese. Find other rectangular prisms in the kitchen (boxes of crackers, cereal, tea bags, etc.).
• Identify additional solid figures (cubes, cones, spheres, and cylinders). Compare to geometric shapes: circle, rectangle, square, triangle, and oval.
  
• Cut each rectangle slices of cheese into two squares and placed on a circular cracker. Find other squares and circles around the house. Look for right angles. Discuss straight and curved lines. Estimate the circumference of the cracker. Write the number to represent the estimate. Measure circumference of the cracker with a string and then measure the string with a ruler. Write the actual length and find the difference between the estimate and the actual.
  
• Measured the height, length, and width of the faces of the cheese block. Older children could calculate the volume.
• Discussed right angles, sides, angles, faces, length, width, height, circumference, diameter, and radius.

These an other kitchen math adventures are available in my Flip Three Pancakes with One Spatula book.

Helpful resources:
http://www.mathsisfun.com/geometry/cuboids-rectangular-prisms.html (concept explanations)
http://www.tcpl.lib.in.us/youth/mathconcepts.htm (book lists for related math topics)
http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/parents/Math/grocerymath.html (math in the grocery store)

Aldi Deal Turned Amazing Math Lesson

Haven't blogged since late June...evaluation season, summer, husband home, morning sickness, pre-writing research, let's just say, blogging sadly took a back seat.

Had to take a break from my day's schedule of writing and grading to pass along the wonder and enjoyment of a learning adventure which took place in our home today. It all started with a milk-induced trip to the local Aldi supermarket. Further down the milk aisle, a fabulous deal on sixteen inch pizzas caught my eye. I loaded four into my cart.

Arriving home, children welcomed me. MILK! We unloaded, and of course the twenty-inch pizza boxes caught their eyes. Never (except for at Nanny's house on Sunday when she feeds fifteen to twenty people) had they seen so many pizza boxes. We quickly discovered the large boxes would not fit in the freezer (our first math problem). We took the pizzas out of the box and the next thing I knew shouts of joy and creativity pierced my ears. They wanted the boxes for "their restaurant".

After saving the cardboard boxes from a trip to the recycle bin, the four girls, ages four to twelve, began to brainstorm what diameter pizza would fit in the box. This was done by invading my buffet of circular platters. Each platter, after estimating its size, made its way into the box confirming the hypothesis of whether or not it would fit. Large pizza size- solved! "Oh, wait we need medium and smalls!" I heard. "We have to figure out the size of the small pizzas and see how many will fit in one box." Within an hour, a variety of small, medium, and large crusts lay on the kitchen table.

Next: the toppings. The four girls began helping one another cut geometric shapes from our scrap box of construction paper: circle pepperoni, oval sausage, triangle mushrooms, and rectangle cheese. An hour and thirty minutes later, pizzas were complete. Time to make menus.

When given the time and access to resources, great learning takes place. Oh, yes, there was mess- hundreds of shredded pieces of construction paper on the carpet. I decided to do some writing in the next room (within earshot, of course)so I would torture myself by watching the paper shredding process. Somehow, two and one-half hours later (yes, I was in and out of the room, but chose not to stress) the learning that took place outweighed the confetti party on my carpet.

The girls have now invited the neighbor over to play pizza delivery with menus and prices, so the learning continues. And I did nothing (except make the platters, paper and glue available) to make it happen. I could not have planned it any better.

Sorry there are no pictures...perhaps I will add them later when the pizzas are not being played with, I mean learned with!

Math and pizza related library resources:
Pizza Counting, Christina Dobson
Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza, Philmon Sturges
Let's Make Pizza, Mary Hill
The Coin Counting Book, Rozanne Lanczak Williams
Give Me Half, Stuart Murphy
Dimes, Mary Hill
Dollars, Mary Hill
Piece=Part=Portion, Scott Gifford

Want more ideas about how to teach math through everyday learning experiences, especially food preparation. Check out my book Flip Three Pancakes with One Spatula.

Bring Math to Life, Add Life to Math

The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. ~William A. Ward

Math is one of those subjects that, for some, brings panic, fear, and anxiety -- angst at the very mention of multiply, sum, percent, or ratio. How do the emotions come to be? My guess is somewhere between the coins in a child's piggy bank and the black and white symbols of a textbook.

We love math when it applies to life and it makes a difference. Not a week goes by that one of my children doesn't climb upon a shelf to retrieve a bank and count the contents. For the older ones, math makes a difference when the stock market dips or real estate stagnates. Life is full of math.

Lately, life has dished us plenty of math. Is the birthday cake big enough to feed the guests at the table? How M&Ms can I pull from the bag before I get a red one? How much did each individual hanger cost in the BONUS pack of 20? How many mission trip support letters could be mailed for $10.25? When math makes a difference, it is understood. When math is understood, it makes a difference. This cycle inspires further learning.

Over sixteen years of homeschooling, we've brought math to life and we've added life to our math. Math for our children is real -- concrete -- part of everyday life. There is no panic, no fear, no anxiety. We live it. We get it.

How can you bring math to life, add life to math? I've included some of our favorite math activities in Flip Three Pancakes with One Spatula. But there is more than math. There's language arts, science, social studies, and art. To bring math to life, it most be woven into living. For example, a child could create clay spheres or they could help mom make meatballs. Then a spherical orange can be cut into equal parts and then squeezed to make orange juice. Reading Each Orange Has Eight Slices by Paul Giganti reinforces fractional concepts. That's flipping three pancakes with one spatula, and that's bringing math to life.

Sites to help bring math to life:
http://www.mathcats.com/grownupcats/ideabankfractions.html


http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/parents/Math/mathhome.html


http://letsplaymath.net/


http://www.mathsisfun.com/fractions.html


http://www.abcteach.com/free/m/measurementsinmyhome.pdf

Math: Instructional Online Videos

Sometimes math gives us fits! All of us! When this happens, we pull out relevant, high-interest objects or find a life experience to which we can apply our learning. Bottom line, we find a multitude of ways to explain or apply math concepts that gives us trouble. Eventually, light bulbs flash indicating we achieved understanding. What great moments!

Need an online math video resource for tough to explain concepts. Check out this link: http://khanexercises.appspot.com/video?v=27Kp7HJYj2c

Taking Math on the Road

I am ecstatic about my newest resource, Taking Math on the Road! It is the first, of what I hope will be many, activity folders in my new Do, Learn, & Remember series. As children create an activity folder, they pull math off flat paper and apply concepts—numeration, graphing, measurement, computation, money, estimation, and more— to life experiences.

This series was conceived as I answered questions from parents: "How do you teach math?" or "Do you have a template for that activity?" The Taking Math on the Road CD contains instructions and templates for the games we play in our home to learn math. The CD can be purchased at my website and inserted in the CD drive of your computer. Print the pages you need and begin a thematic math adventure.

Want to know more? I am posting the introduction to Taking Math on the Road here so you can become more acquainted with the ideas behind the Do, Learn, & Remember series.

"The contents of this activity folder are intentionally written to help you teach your child math concepts. Working through this seven day study, your child will create a folder packed with high-interest activities. Unlike worksheets which teach math on a one-dimensional surface, Do, Learn, & Remember actively involves your child. The games are intended to provide stand-alone math instruction but can be easily adapted or incorporated into existing home studies.

Do, Learn, & Remember encourages mastery through repetition, an essential element for teaching math concepts. The completed folder’s compact, pocket-design keeps supplies and pieces safely inside and invites your child to carry learning through the day, playing and practicing again and again. This study is not a once-and-done-creation.

Do, Learn, & Remember activities offer flexibility. The unit was written for varied developmental stages and educational philosophies. Simply choose appropriate activities from the selections provided. Feel free to shorten, lengthen, substitute, or omit activities to accommodate your child’s learning needs. Web resources (marked with a computer symbol) and book suggestions are included for extended study. It is even possible to use the games and resources without constructing the activity folder.

Each lesson includes practical application experiences and related book titles (a library visit enhances study, but is not required) in an effort to make learning relevant to life. Additional supplemental activities and templates are available on this CD. Create, teach, and learn by the means which best encourage learning in your home.

Taking Math on the Road was tested in our home. If it didn’t work, I didn’t include it. In fact, only activities which earned a “Dad, look what we did!” made their way into this unit. Most of the activities were completed at multiple levels (ages 4-8) and some were selected as review activities for children who needed extra practice. Generally, we all played together. Our activity folder and the memories we made creating it, are treasured. We hope yours will be, too!"

Math concepts taught and reinforced in Taking Math on the Road:

• Shape and color recognition
• Counting to 100 by twos, fives, and tens
• Greater than and less than to 100
• Ordering numbers 1-100
• Ordering numbers 100-1000
• Graphing and tallying
• Comparison
• Addition facts and their corresponding subtraction facts (addends 0-6, sums less than 12)
• Foundational fraction concepts

Content area skills integrated and applied to life skills:

• Roman roads
• Road construction
• Shapes, colors, and meanings of common road signs
• History and significance of traffic signals
• Inventors who contributed to automotive history
• Car manufacturing
• Auto mechanics
• Buses
• Drawing vehicles

Bonus! activities and templates for Place Value Pasta, Add the Wheels, Traffic Sign Criss-Cross, and Roman Road Dessert.

Flip Three Pancakes Reviewed in Take Root and Write

Meredith Curtis reviewed my book, Flip Three Pancakes with One Spatula, this week in Take Root and Write.

Flip Three Pancakes is a math curriculum and a cookbook packed with ideas to teach math while preparing meals with children ages 3-8. The activities included in the book are based on grade level skills taught in K-2nd grade and have been used in our life learning adventures.

Check out the review at:
http://issuu.com/noellemena/docs/trwdm-issue25-2009-august10-14?mode=a_p (scroll down to page 26)

The same review was posted at Joyful and Successful Homeschooling Reviews:
http://www.takerootandwrite.com/2009/08/flip-3-pancakes-with-1-spatula-review.html#more

Need an apron or chef's hat for your cooking adventures? Check out this week's fabric colors at http://www.cherylbastian.com/bookstore. The aprons make great gifts, too.

Happy cooking!