My first grader has to learn all sorts of math facts this year and so far this fall has been working on addition. The kids study their flashcards throughout the month and their parents are supposed to quiz them periodically and sign whether or not they can answer them quickly and accurately on their homework sheet.
Holding up flashcards got boring very quickly so last month we played a fire hose game to “put out” the correct answers. It was a hit so I decided to keep the fun going. I taped math facts all around the house and as she (and my husband and I) walked by them she said and checked the answer.
After a couple days of practice she seemed to have them down so I came up with a game to test her knowledge.
I made a quick “passport” for her featuring all of the rooms that had math facts. When she could quickly answer all of the facts in the room correctly she earned a stamp (or sticker) on her passport for that room.
The math fact passport game was lots of fun and she got the answers correct. She has already requested a “fancier” passport for subtraction facts and my four year old wants his own passport and some easy math facts in his room too.
Linking to:
Eddie - The Usual Mayhem says
November 7, 2012 at 11:09 amI love this idea! I’ll be trying it out with my youngest. Thanks for sharing!
Megan says
November 7, 2012 at 8:45 pmThanks! The best part is that it is extremely easy to prep–unless you make a fancy passport like my daughter wants next time!
Eddie - The Usual Mayhem says
November 7, 2012 at 11:11 amForgot to say that I pinned it on my PreK and K leanring ideas board. 🙂
Megan says
November 7, 2012 at 8:46 pmThanks so much!!!
Kendall says
November 7, 2012 at 1:56 pmThat is awesome and something to keep in mind when my 3.5 year old daughter is a little older!
Megan says
November 7, 2012 at 8:47 pmThanks so much Kendall! It would be fun with letters or numbers too!
Julie @ Just Playin Around says
November 12, 2012 at 9:16 amWhat a fun way to learn math facts! I love the passport. I may have to do something like that with my daughter. Thanks for sharing on the Afterschool blog hop!
Megan says
November 12, 2012 at 11:29 amThanks Julie!
Mum of One says
April 24, 2013 at 2:21 pmWhat a wonderful idea! I am pinning now for when my son gets a bit bigger 🙂
Megan Sheakoski says
April 25, 2013 at 2:15 pmThanks so much Mum of One!
Kate says
April 26, 2013 at 10:37 pmThat is an excellent way to keep a child interested in learning the facts! You might want to try math families at some point….for example: 3,2, and 5 are a family. 2+3 = 5, 3+2 +5, 5-3=2 and
5-2=3. Grouping them together will make subtraction make sense and be easier.