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Teachers and parents know how children feel about summer math practice. They groan loudly at even the mention of “summer” and “math” in the same sentence. But did you know that the average student loses between 25-34% of their school-year math progress during the following summer? This is thought to be about two to three months’ worth of skills.
Practicing literacy skills can be as simple as reading a fun book, but math practice over the summer can be more challenging. Most kids don’t want to sit down and complete worksheets during their break. So, how can you practice math over the summer?
We’re sharing seven fun summer math activities to help your elementary-aged children keep their skills sharp. These tasks are easy to incorporate into your existing plans or even into your summer school math curriculum. Show your kids how math can be applied in everyday life – even during the summer!
Make errands a part of your at-home math ideas! There are plenty of opportunities for summer math practice at the grocery store, especially with money. Challenge your child to help you stay within a budget as you add items to the cart.
Mention that a package of blueberries costs $3. Ask your child how much three packages would cost. Point out that an individual cup of yogurt costs $0.75 while a 6-pack costs $4. Which is the better deal – buying 6 individual cups or one 6-pack? You get the idea!
You can also try giving your child a calculator and letting them look through shopping catalogs and coupon books.
If you’re running a summer math program, add a shopping game to your activities. You can use our Add/Subtract 1-100 to practice money math on a large scale. Check out the instructions below!
Taking a road trip? Turn it into summer math practice! Challenge your child to add the planned route’s number of miles to the car’s odometer. Ask them to add up the total number of miles for two legs of your trip. Calculate the number of miles traveled on one highway.
There are plenty of possibilities for math that will help pass the time in the car – even something as simple as counting the number of red vehicles you see!
This is a simple way to practice elapsed time and planning skills. Ask your child to count how many days until they go to camp or the beach, for example. Or, say they are attending a pool party at 3 pm, and it takes 15 minutes to drive there. Ask them what time they should leave home to get there on time.
This is an easy way to practice math over the summer, especially if you have lots of activities planned! If you’re leading a summer learning program, have students calculate how much time there is until lunch or how many days there are until the first day of school. You can also use our Clock Hop floor mat in your summer school math activities!
Related Reading: How to Create the Ultimate Summer Math Program for Your Students
Following a recipe is a great way to practice measurements and fractions. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division can also be a part of this activity if you are doubling or splitting a recipe. Plus, you’ll have a tasty treat to enjoy at the end! Get your kids involved in the kitchen for at-home math activities.
Gardening is already a part of many families’ summer activities – make it a way to practice math! Grow a plant with your child and keep track of its height. You can choose your favorite flowers, such as lilies or sunflowers, or tall vegetable plants, like tomatoes or cucumbers.
Have your child record their plant’s height in centimeters or inches regularly, perhaps every three days or once a week. Not only will this activity give your child practice with measuring, but they’ll also be able to calculate how much the plant grew each month and the average growth between measurements.
Additionally, gardening is a great outdoor science lesson. Seeing your child’s plant grow as they care for it will be extremely rewarding!
Related Reading: Summer Math Activities to Get Kids Outdoors
Going out to eat is something many families do over the summer. Teach your child how to calculate the waiter’s tip when you get the check after the meal. This is a skill that they will use for the rest of their lives!
Lawn games, such as Frisbee or ladder ball, are classic activities at picnics and family gatherings. You can make them a part of your summer learning program, too!
Assign your child the task of keeping score while playing lawn games. Kids will be so focused on the game that they may not even realize they’re practicing math! Games like cornhole in particular provide great summer math practice since different bean bag throws earn different point amounts.
Math practice over the summer doesn’t have to include worksheets or boring lessons. Practice can happen while playing games, planning a trip, or making dinner. You can prevent learning loss with simple summer math practice each day.
Add these activities to your at-home math ideas or summer school math curriculum. And check out our summer learning materials. Math & Movement is focused on physical activity and play-based learning for all students.
Find out more:
Parents can help kids with math at home by showing them math’s practical daily applications. For example, kids can practice math outside of school by adding up prices while shopping, baking, keeping score during a game, or calculating the tip at a restaurant.
Children should try to practice math every day to increase comprehension and retention of skills.
The loss or regression in academic skills that occurs over the summer is known as the summer slide or summer learning loss.
Yes. Between 70-78% of elementary students experience the summer slide in math each year.
Children from low-income families experience greater levels of summer learning loss. They are less likely to have access to enrichment opportunities or structured activities to practice math over the summer.
Suzy Koontz, CEO and Founder of Math & Movement, has spent over 25 years helping students achieve academic success. She has created over 200 kinesthetic teaching tools adopted by schools nationwide and has authored over 20 books. As a sought-after national presenter, Suzy shares how movement can transform the way students learn.
Movement isn't just for recess
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