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Sneak Some Math into Summer Vacation
Tips to Have Fun and Stay Sharp By Beth Hering
3. Appeal to the Sense of Adventure
Whether you are hitting the road to Disney or to Grandma's this summer, get out the map and let your tween help plot the journey. Talk about the shortest distance between two points being a straight line – and then see if that can work (little things like, say, the Great Lakes might get in the way). Let everyone guess the total number of miles, and then let your child determine the actual number using the map key and a ruler. Which state marks the halfway point? If you stop for bathroom breaks every two hours, in which cities would you end up (assuming a rate of 50 miles per hour)? If you get the dreaded "Are we there yet?" during the trip, pass the map to the backseat and say "You tell me how much farther." (If this doesn't help with math, at least it might cut down on whining.) Another way to pass travel time – load up on grade-level-appropriate Sudoku books and let your child discover why these Japanese number puzzles are so addictive.
Your child may have been cooking with you for years, doing such tasks as stirring in chocolate chips or cracking open an egg. Now that he is older, he is ready to take on more challenges in the kitchen. Under your distant (but watchful) eye, let him tackle a recipe on his own that involves measuring out ingredients. (The cookie section of the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, a staple in many homes, is a good place to start.) Remind him that he may have to make some conversions (such as 8 ounces of butter being equal to half a pound), may need to improvise on measuring tools (such as using the quarter cup twice when the half cup is already dirty), should double-check his work before proceeding to the next step (such as whether it called for a teaspoon or a tablespoon of baking soda), and can double the recipe if he wants to make more. Being able to follow steps precisely to arrive at the desired result will serve him well in the future both in advanced mathematics and in the days when Mom will no longer be there to prepare every meal.
