Over the past, I have talked about getting your children engaged in maths through home activities. Today, I shall go further in depth about other examples of such activities.
Your home is full of opportunities to explore math with your child and, at the same time, build his or her self-confidence and understanding of mathematical ideas. This is a chance for you and your child to “talk math” that is, to communicate about math while discovering relationships between numbers. Being able to describe mathematical patterns and relationships, such as those between “addition and subtraction” or “odd and even numbers,” is important to later success in math.
The activities I’ll be sharing are intended to be enjoyable and inviting and use items that can be found in your home. While doing the activities, keep in mind that an understanding of math and a sense that math is enjoyable will help children develop skills that they will need for success their entire lives.
Money’s Worth
What You’ll Need
Coins, supermarket coupons and a pencil.
What to Do
- Coin Clues. Ask your child to gather some change in his or her hand without showing what it is. Start with amounts of 25 cents or less (for P1 students, you can start with 1 or 5-cent coins). Ask your child to tell you how much money and how many coins there are. Guess which coins are being held. For example, “I have 17 cents and 5 coins. What coins do I have?” (three 5-cent and two 1-cent coins).
- Clip and save. Cut out supermarket coupons and tell how much money is saved with coins. For example, if you save 20 cents on detergent, say two 10-cent coins. Ask your child what could be purchased using the savings from the coupon. A pack of gum? A pencil? How much money could be saved with 3, 4, or 5 coupons? How could that money be counted out in coins and notes? What could be purchased with those savings? A pack of notebook paper? A magazine? How much money could be saved with coupons for a week’s worth of groceries? How would that money be counted out? What could be purchased with those savings? A book? A movie ticket? What percentage of the original price is the coupon worth?
- Count the ways. How many ways can you make 10 cents, 25 cents, 30 cents, 40 cents, or 50 cents? You can help your child add the coins in various ways to get different answers.
- Try playing the coin games with coins from another country, like with Malaysian or even American coins.
Parent Pointer
Coin games help children to learn the value of coins. They also teach counting, addition, subtraction, and multiplication. Coupons can help teach children money management, as well as subtraction and percentages.
Reference: http://math.com/