Math is literally everywhere! But you just might not know it…yet.
Instead of busting out workbooks all the time to help your child review math, use these easy summer math activities ideas and resources. Your kids will never even know they’re learning!
Easy Summer Math Activities and Resources
Ready to have a ton of great activity ideas at your fingertips? You’ll love making learning fun for your kids!
Head over to Pinterest for tons of great learning ideas!
Math + Science
- Cooking: whip up yummy cookies or make dinner together! Your child will practice measuring and fractions. You could make it more complicated by halving or doubling recipes together. Add in more science by making multiple batches of the same recipe with slightly different ingredients to see is which is better. Younger kids could compare measured ingredients to see which is more.
- Volcano: the classic baking soda and vinegar experiment is already super fun. But what happens when you tweak the measurements? Mess around with the amount of ingredients to see which ratios make the best eruption. More baking soda or more vinegar? Track your experiments and compare the data, then write down your volcano recipe for the future.
- Slime: just like the volcano recipe, tweak the ingredients with a little more or a little less of each item. Then write down the measurements for the “perfect” slime recipe, along with any add-ins.
There are even more great science and math ideas on the MilKids Ed Pinterest boards!
Math + Reading
There are so many great math books for kids! These are some of my favorites:
- Mistakes that Worked
- Math Curse by Jon Scieszka
- Fractions in Disguise by Edward Einhorn
- Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi by Cindy Neuschwander
- The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant
Find tons of math books for all ages on Amazon, or your local bookseller!
Discover more great math book ideas at The Best Children’s Books.
Math + Beach
- Shells: challenge your child to find matching shells or similar shells. Matching is a great early math skill, so it’s perfect for little kids. Ask older kids to find different amounts of certain types of shells, like 5 white shells or 6 pink shells.
- Sandcastles: try to build different methods to build a sandcastle. Experiment with different sand/water mixtures. Who can build it widest or tallest? How many towers can you add?
- Maze: use things you’ve found on the beach, like shells, rocks, seaweed, or driftwood. You could design one for your child to solve or vice versa. Another idea is to build one together and then drive toy cars around the maze!
Get ready to learn at the beach with your child!
Math + Board Games
Family game night is a great way to have a fun and sneak in a little extra learning, too.
Check out these great math-focused games for easy learning activities:
Logic:
Numbers:
Money:
Preschool:
Math + Tech
There are a million and one apps and websites for children to use when it comes to math! It’s virtually (get it) impossible for me, or anyone, to test or review them all. Instead, look for these key elements:
- Accounts: is an account required for your child to access games or other features? If so, are children under 13 allowed to create the account themselves? Before your child signs up for a website, create your own account and poke around first. Then work together to create their own account. Remember to save all usernames and passwords so you can check their activity online!
- Chat: can users chat to each other on the site or in the app? If so, what happens to those messages? Chat features worry me as a teacher and mom. Things can be easily hidden or deleted. Stay away from, or heavily monitor, any programs with chat capabilities.
- Value: are these games just for games or is there hidden value? Look for websites that combine an element of learning in with the fun. There should always be a skill that is being tested or worked on.
- Paid: is the website free or are accounts paid? Check out how easy it might be to make pricey in-app purchases or sign up for a paid account.
Check out these 10 FREE math websites perfect for parents and kids!
Math Workbooks & Learning Resources
There’s still a lot to be said for the more “traditional” ways of teaching and learning math. Workbooks and flash cards still have a place!
I love Spectrum workbooks for kids of all ages! Another great workbook series, and general learning resource publisher, is BrainQuest.
Adding hands-on manipulatives and tools, like flash cards, can make summer math activities easier. I love these fun resources:
When you mix in a little fun with summer math activities, learning, and keeping skills sharp is super simple!