DreamBox Learning®» summer math activities

Outdoor Math Games to Avoid the Summer Slide

Tracy — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 22:30:33 +0000

There's no better way to avoid the summer slide than to get outside! Summer is the best time of the year to go out and enjoy the great outdoors, and DreamBox Learning wants to add to the fun with exciting and easy outdoor math games kids will love. Break out the sunscreen and throw on the swimsuit because some of these games are going to get you soaked with water and knowledge (but, mostly water).

Wet 'n wild math games

1. Hole-in-the-Bucket Relay Race

Teach children how to measure liquids with a hole-in-the-bucket relay race. Materials:

Five Tupperware or coffee can containers
One large clean plastic garbage container
Five different five-gallon buckets
One nail and hammer

Set up: Use a nail to punch five to eight holes in one coffee can for each team. Have players estimate how many cans full of water it will take to fill up a five-gallon bucket. The rules: Give each evenly divided team a can. Players run to the container full of water, fill the can, and run back to the next person, who dumps the water into the bucket. The race is over when the first team fills up their five-gallon bucket. Give a special prize to the team that fills their bucket in the least amount of trips.

2. Water balloon toss

Discover distances by measuring how far you throw a water balloon in a game of catch. Materials:

25 water balloons filled with water
Measuring tape
Trash bags to collect water balloon fragments

Set up: Using the measuring tape, mark off every three feet on the ground for 30 yards. (If you have access to a football field, you can also use the yard markers on a lined football field. Be sure to clean up afterward!) Ask each player how far he or she can throw before starting. The rules: Pairing each team in a group of two, give each group a water balloon and have them start by standing three-feet apart in the middle of the 30-yard area. One person on each team will pass the water balloon to the teammate. If the water balloon doesn't break, each teammate can take one gigantic step backwards to the next yard marker. The game continues until there is only one team left with an intact water balloon.

Runnin' around math games

1. Get Even

Use a deck of playing cards to learn the difference between even and odd numbers. Materials:

One deck of playing cards (without jokers or face cards)
Eight cones
A large running area like a field

Set up: Using four cones make a box in the middle of the field called the "pen." Align the other four cones in the four outer corners of the field. The rules: Give each player a playing card with an odd number. Divide the rest of the deck into the four outer corner cones. Players must dash out to one of the four outer cones and find one card that equals an even number when added to the player's card. The player then returns to the pen to drop off their new card and races back out to the outer cones. The game is over when players collect all the playing cards from the outside cones.

2. One size fits all

Learn about different sizes in a clothing relay race. Materials:

Three XXL t-shirts
Three XXL athletic shorts
Three pairs of adult size shoes
Six cones

Set up: Place the shirt, shorts and shoes at the start line. Space a set of three cones ten-yards away from the start line. The rules: Divide each team into three even groups. When the leader says, "Go!" the first person in line races to put on the shoes, shirt and shorts and runs down field, around the cone and back the start line. The player must then hand off the shoes, shirt and shorts to the next person in line. The race continues until every person on the team dashes down field. For an extra math moment: Using a stopwatch, take the pulse of each player after he or she is done running. Be sure to check out our August Math Activity Calendar for even more summer math activities all month long. Have a great summer and comment below with your own outdoor math activity ideas!

New Math Activity Calendar: July is Freedom Math Month

Tracy — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 20:36:37 +0000

It's time to get patriotic! Fourth of July is right around the corner, which means it's time to let freedom ring with summertime activities and enjoyable learning holidays. Freedom math month celebrates history and math with exciting counting games and problem solving fun - the perfect recipe to avoid the summer slide! Print it. Post it. Mark down the days. Our newest math activities calendar is ready to shine with exciting summer holidays kids and parents can enjoy all month long.

Activity Calendar Highlights

Get ready for National Strawberry Sundae Day on July 7th
You can't miss the Apollo 11 Moon Landing Anniversary on July 20th
Bake a pie for Pi Approximation Day on July 22nd - one of our favorite days of the year

Tell DreamBox about Your Summer Vacation

We all love to take a vacation during summertime, but not from learning. If you're planning on going anywhere exciting this summer, leave us a comment and let us know how you add summer math and problem solving into your vacation. We hope you enjoy our July activities calendar. Have a fun and safe summer!

Disney Math Games Make Long Lines Fun

Tracy — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:43:11 +0000

School is officially out: cue the much-anticipated family vacation. Inevitably, there will be at least a couple of DreamBox fans that pack up and take the kids to Disneyland or Disney World. And while Mickey and Minnie and the Pirates of the Caribbean ride make it all worth it, there is really no way to avoid the hot sun and the long lines.

Long line at Disneyland

If sweltering heat and interminable waits sound like they'll take the fun out of your vacation, plan ahead with fun Disney math games that will make endless lines seem like nothing.

Disney math games for a hassle-free (and educational) summer vacation

I spy shoes. Keep your eyes on the ground, and check out the footwear of everyone around you. Have your kids count tennis shoes versus flip flops, or white shoes versus black. How long does it take until someone sees green shoes? A great lesson in counting, categorizing, and fashion. Hidden Mickey roundup. "Hidden Mickies" are the designs, patterns and forms Disney "imagineers" (that's an engineer with an imagination) incorporate into the Disney parks. The three circles that make up Mickey's head (two small circles for ears, one larger circle for his head) are everywhere: in the wall paper, from a bird's eye view of the golf course, in the table settings, in the rides. Have your kids scope out these patterns, both big and small. How many Mickies can your kids see from the line? How many over the course of your vacation?

Spot this Hidden Mickey at the Haunted Mansion

Disney charades. This is a great game to play when you're wrangling more than one youngster in line. Have each child take turns acting out the Disney character you whisper in their ear while the other child times them for 30 seconds. Pump up the math learning by using an analog watch, as opposed to a digital timer. Count the flags. Disney World is one of the most international tourist attractions in the United States. While in line, count how many foreign flags you and your kids can see: either on T-shirts, stitched onto backpacks, or on key chains. Disney "cast members" (all the workers in the Disney parks are called cast members) wear name tags saying where they come from. Can your kids find cast members from all 50 states? How many international cast members have they met? And as a reminder: wear hats and apply sunscreen often and in high dosages, to make waiting in the direct sun much safer!

New (Free) Calendars Full of Summer Math Activities

Tracy — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 21:47:51 +0000

We hope your kids are having fun with our July summer activities calendar! Good news: we now have August and September summer math calendars. Hang these fun printables on the fridge and don't miss the summer's coolest holidays.

Summer math holidays and activities:

August is get ready for kindergarten month! Help prepare your child for kindergarten through the month of August. DreamBox Learning is a great math game for kindergartners because it makes math learning fun, is individualized, and tracks progress. It's a wonderful way to introduce your child to math learning. Our September calendar features delightful holidays like cream-filled doughnut day on September 14 and National Comic Book Day on September 25! These calendars are free and available as part of the parent resources we offer. Print them out and you'll always have math learning activities to do with your kids during the dog days of summer.

Fun Summer Math Games: Avoid the Summer Slide

Tracy — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:49:47 +0000

Math skills can be hard to retain during summer vacation. Kids may spend hours reading books at the beach and doing crafts at camp, but when do they practice math? Kids who practice summer math will have an easier time transitioning to back to school, while kids who don't may lose a couple months of learning. The trick is to teach your kids math by combining it with fun activities. DreamBox Learning has two new free summer math printables: our Super Fun Beach Day printable, which shows you how to plan educational beach activities and the DreamBox Read-and-Learn Math List, which lists great storybooks that also teach math. Both are free and no registration required, so please take advantage of these excellent parent resources.

Fun Summer Math Printables:

Fun summer math activities:

Bake cookies and let your kids help you measure ingredients
Play a rainy day math game, such as Dominoes or Yahtzee
Go on a scavenger hunt and teach your kids to count and sort objects

Comment below with tips on keeping your kids busy during summer vacation. Are there any travel math games you play or math stories you read with the little ones? Let us know!