Category: Math Activities

How to Teach Kids About Money (Guest Post)

2/1/2015

by John Cale, GiftCertificateTemplates.net

Image by Georgie R via Flickr.com (Creative Commons)

Kids are growing up really fast and money is a really big issue that affects everyone -- kids too. It is always wise to let them know about money and be able to differentiate the values. As a parent, it is your responsibility to teach them about all this and the sooner you start the better. There are many ways to teach kids about money, but the best way is to make it fun, since kids get bored really fast. You can introduce them with fun games that include money like:

Sorting and Stacking

Make sure the kids know the different coins. Then, let them sort them out and put them in different places. They can match up the ones that look the same and put them together in a different place.

Showing the Different Types of Coins

You can teach them by using boards and putty tabs. Start by sticking the front of the coins on the board for them to see and then stick the back of the same coin to match up. Do this for the different types of coins and let the children try and stick the same under the ones that you have put up. Let them repeat this until they are finally aware of all the coins and their values.

Matching Up Coins

Teach them in groups of their friends and give them coin cards with each coin drawn on them. Then, let them match up the real coins and cards and make it a friendly competition. Tell them that the one who finishes first gets a reward.

Value of Coins

Once the kids have learned all the different coins, you can then add up the bigger currencies. Start by letting them know what a certain coin can buy. They will then learn to appreciate money and treasure it.

Saving

You can then teach your children the importance of saving money and get them piggy banks. Give them goals and let them save a certain amount at a certain time and offer rewards when they do this.

When they make an effort to save, as a parent it is your duty to recognize this and appreciate them. You can show your appreciation by rewarding them with a certificate of appreciation. You can design one easily by using a certificate of appreciation template. By doing this, your kids will grow up with the knowledge of saving, which can help them become financially responsible.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

John Cale is a designer and IT professional. He designs many websites on different kinds of office templates. You can see his work on certificate templates and other business templates and get handy stuff while you're at it.

5 Simple Free Counting Games for Preschoolers

1/29/2015

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by Lyn Lomasi, Write W.A.V.E. Media Staff

Learning to count is a common and necessary skill for preschoolers to tackle. But it doesn't have to be all pencil and paper. Use simple counting games to make it fun and enhance skills at the same time. As a mom and homeschool teacher, I use a variety of ways to teach my kids lessons. Here are 5 of my favorite simple counting games for preschoolers.

Bring me this many! Test your preschoolers knowledge and practice counting by having her bring you a certain number of items. For instance, you might say "Bring me 10 yellow blocks". If she only brings you only eight, you might say "How many yellow blocks is that again? I still need 2 more to make ten." This simple counting game can be played throughout the day at various intervals.

How many words make this sentence? So your child has mastered counting objects? What about sentences in his stories? This helps with both reading comprehension and counting skills. Point to sentences and have the child count how many words he sees from the capital to the period. Doing so helps teach the child what a sentence is, as well as practice numeration.

Tap to my beat. Whether you use a pencil or a drumstick, instruct your child to tap the beat in songs. Choose a specific section of the song and tap the beat, counting together how many taps there are. This counting exercise helps the child learn about rhythm and song. But it's also great counting practice that you can sneak in disguised as fun.

Toss a penny in. Need a use for that old egg carton? Take off the top and use the egg holder portion to play penny toss. Number the slots 1-12 (or higher, depending the carton size). Grab a handful of pennies and hand them to your child. You might say "Toss 5 pennies into the number 1 slot". This simple counting game tests your child's hand-eye coordination, offers counting practice, tests number recognition skills, and more.

Red cars speed on by! Ever watch the cars go by with your kids? Turn it into a simple counting activity. Ask questions like "Let's see how many blue cars go by before the light turns red." Another may be "The light's green. How man red cars are speeding by?" Observe what's happening and use it to count the cars in various ways. This can be played during the homeschool day. But if your kids attend school outside the home, you can also play it with them on the way to and from school.

*I originally published this via Yahoo Contributor Network

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5 Ways to Make Math Fun with Music

12/2/2014

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by Lyn Lomasi, Staff Writer

"I can't do this, mom! I don't get it!" "Math sucks!" If your child or student says things like this try to make math fun with music. This helps the child relate more in an entertaining way. Music lyrics and musical activities can also help the child memorize certain skills, due to repetition.

Write songs for each new concept that is taught. Parents or teachers can do this themselves and teach the songs to the kids. Depending on their age level and understanding, kids can even even participate in writing the songs. Singing and creating the songs helps with memorization of the steps required to solve problems. Be sure that the songs not only have answers, but explain the steps necessary to get there. This way the child is not just memorizing the answers, but knows how that answer is possible.

Use the beats of the music to make math. For instance, count how many beats there are per minute. For more complicated math, add, subtract, multiply, and divide beats to figure out how many occur within a specific time-frame or within the entire song. For fun, kids can tap the beats with a drumstick (or clap them) as they count, add, subtract, multiply, and divide.

Turn lesson time into a musical at school or at home. This one may work best with your own children or with younger kids. Sing the lessons to the kids and have them sing back the answers. It's just a silly activity that gets kids giggling and having fun while learning math. This can be a good good activity during homework time or other times when a child is getting frustrated. To take it a step further for older kids, they can actually write a musical based on what they learn and perform it for family or for the school.

Let them dance for correct answers. When a child gets the right answer, let her dance. This inspires the kids to work hard at getting those answers. Dance also helps relieve tension and increase energy, which is good for concentration. The music should be the signal that it's time to dance. Pause it during questions and when someone gives a correct response, press play.

Assign them a research report to be given in song. Just as children write reports in other subjects, they can be written for math as well. To add to the effect and make math fan, add music to the mix. Children can present their reports in song, rather than reading them aloud. Allow for creativity with dance and even props. Leave it up to the kids. When children are having fun, they are more receptive to their environment.

*I originally published this via Yahoo Contributor Network

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How to Teach Kids About Money (Guest Post)

5 Simple Free Counting Games for Preschoolers

5 Ways to Make Math Fun with Music

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