Find some ways that you are doing maths at home/over the weekends. This may be scoring at a footy game, cooking or baking, measuring some timber for a project, using money skills at the supermarket etc. Take a picture of yourself using Maths at home and write a few sentences about it.
Please send these pictures through to photos@smashburton.catholic.edu.au and we will add these to the Maths Wall in the quadrangle.
Here are some examples:
In the Kitchen
There are several mathematical activities that take place in the kitchen, including preparing food, measuring ingredients, estimating cooking times, plating dishes and setting the table. •
Estimate then count the number of cups needed to fill a large pot
Use a timer when preparing food or monitoring cooking times
How long does it take to make the perfect cup of tea?
Give directions to help your child set the table or plate food
Investigate the different shapes of objects and food items in the house
Can you find any items that do not belong? (non-example) Can you describe why they are different?
Order containers from smallest to tallest or lightest to heaviest
Think about the different shapes we can make when we cut vegetables
How do these shapes and sizes effect cooking times?
Can you measure half a cup using a ⅓ of a cup measure? In the Bathroom The bathroom is another great place to find maths activities, including comparing capacity and ordering objects.
Use the bath or large tub to investigate whether objects sink or float
Make a boat using paper and time how long it stays afloat
What if you add weights (or blocks)? Does it still float?
Fill containers with water to find out which one has the largest capacity
Compare the height or weight of containers
Order the containers according to their size
What if I give you one more container? Where would you place it? Why?
OUTSIDE
You do not need to be in the house to find great maths activities. Often good activities are just outside your
front door.
Go for a number walk in your local area – look for numbers on street signs, house numbers and shop fronts
If you see a number, think about: What number comes before or after? What is ten more or less than the number? What else do you know about the number?
Go to a local park – use location words to describe the position of the different objects
Create your own obstacle course and follow the directions given to you by someone else
Use a timer to see how long it takes you to complete the course
Hide an object and give someone directions to find it
Draw a map to the local shops or park
Count the number of steps to arrive at a favourite location – if the distance is too far consider using a phone app or fitness tracker
Be the first person to find an object (or objects) that shows a certain number or characteristic, for example, find 5 leaves, find something that is blue, find something that would fit inside a matchbox, find something hard, find something that could be used to collect water, etc.
Can you find something that does not fit any of the categories? (a non-example) What makes it different?
Buy some large chalk and use it to create your own maths challenges, pathways or games
Create a pattern with the chalk and have some explain and continue it
Check who can do the longest standing jump or jump with a run up or the highest jump
Take some sporting equipment outside – investigate how far can you kick a ball, throw a ball, hit a ball with a bat or throw a frisbee
Other Rooms
The other rooms in your house, including the garage or garden shed, may also contain interesting items that could be the starting point for an investigation.
Hide an object and give someone else directions to locate it
Find a measuring tape and use it to predict then measure the size of different objects or distances
Sort a collection of objects according to their colour, shape or size
Use materials, such as books or newspaper, to build the tallest tower or the strongest bridge
Count the number of stairs or the number of steps it takes to get to different rooms
Create a map of your house or draw a map of your dream house
Find all the shoes in the house – sort them according to size or colour
In the Bathroom
The bathroom is another great place to find maths activities, including comparing
capacity and ordering objects.
Use the bath or large tub to investigate whether objects sink or float
Make a boat using paper and time how long it stays afloat
What if you add weights (or blocks)? Does it still float?
Fill containers with water to find out which one has the largest capacity
Compare the height or weight of containers
Order the containers according to their size
What if I give you one more container? Where would you place it? Why?
