Learning those pesky math facts

  So here is a "Day in the Life" kind of story.  Imagine if you will 3 of my 5 kids with dry erase boards and dice ready to play the game SNAKE.  At the time of this event my children are:  Miss A - age 16, Mr. C- age 12, Miss J- age 10, Baby A- 15 months.  Buddy C is at his grandmother's house.  We start the Snake game and Baby A is in charge of throwing the dice.  In fact she is sitting on the counter.  In my world, it isn't great to sit on counters, but it is infinitely better than her being on the loose to play in toilets and draw on herself or eat cat food.  Not that she has every done ANY of those things.  Miss A begins with a typical teen comment of "this is stupid" (translate that into, I have Chemistry and other subjects to do that take hours, why do I have to play math games?)  Mr. C is fiercely competitive.  He shouts at the top of his lungs every time he scores points.  He also throws things and stomps when he loses points, which delays the game as I correct these attitudes.   I really can't imagine where my kids get their competitive nature. (Hint: it ain't me, but it might be Daddy C).  So as a bonus, this math game has character training too!  SWEET!  Who doesn't need more character???   Miss J is just thrilled that EVERYONE is playing her game with her and totally oblivious that to a stranger our "day in the life" looks a lot like chaos. 

   As the game progresses, Baby A gets a bit wild with the dice and it turns into part search for the missing dice and part all three running to make sure the dice finder doesn't tell a fib and call SNAKE EYES.  ;-)  I could have videoed this, but I will be honest.  I don't need that kind of evidence to prove my real mom skills.  It's enough that I write it down.  Maybe I should reconsider "sharing" so much.  If you are super organized, then just this image of baby on the counter is enough to mortify you.  However, if you are a mom with 5 or so kids (who happens not to be Type A) and you are struggling to fit it all in each day, then this may encourage you. (There is a house even more crazy than mine!)  You may never have considered having a toddler throw dice in order to add excitement to the game (keeping them out of the potty and eating cat food is just another BONUS).  The kids are learning their multiplication facts and the older kids are learning things like the squares and cubes.  For example, if I roll the dice, Miss J will add or multiply, but Miss A will have to find the square or cube of just one die.  It's my attempt at the one room school house.  In the end, all of the kids are having fun.  Good review and preview has been had by all.  Now if I keep this up, I'm hoping the last two will just know those facts cold by about 1st or 2nd grade from simply hearing them said aloud so many times every single week.  I'll have to let you know how that turns out.  It might just be wishful thinking.  Either way, below I have linked my favorite resources for family math  games.  I can't say enough how much kids LOVE the buzzers.  Beware though, they will drive you insane, so you may want to also purchase a lock box to store them in between games.  Have fun with your kids playing games and learning math facts.  

Mrs. P 

Lights and Sounds Buzzer

10 days to mastery with multiplication wrap ups

XtraMath.org

Snake: a game for several children

Board Slam

My Pinterest Board for Essentials of English Language with math

math fact practice

Timed Math Fact Practice with printable sheets for your records....

Real Math

Moola Moola from the magical land of Lotta Loot
Mascot for Our Banks Savings Account for children

Today, Miss A and I went to the bank. She set up a "Moola Moola Account" at our credit union. A "Moola Moola Account" is a special account for children under thirteen. The idea is to let them learn to save money and earn "moola moola bucks" toward fun prizes, like pencils, water bottles, posters, etc. She put her youth fair check in and will be learning to keep a record of her money. This is a good skill for real life and a nice bonus for her 4-H record book as she needs to know how much money she spends/earns on her fair projects. You may have a similar program at your bank for children. Generally it is pretty easy to set up, requires a small amount of money (ours is $5) to start an account, and the parent signs for them as they are a minor. The two younger children are contemplating starting an account with their tooth fairy money after seeing the (cheesey to a mom) (cool to a 5 year old) moola backpack and pencil. Well at least one of the children has tooth fairy money...the youngest one has "Meme" money...lol. I guess if they decide to part with their money, then I'll be headed back to the bank to let the younger two have their own "Moola Moola Accounts."

Gingerbread Houses for Math

Today we are making gingerbread houses for math class. We will talk about shapes, divide and group candies, measure walls and ingredients in the dough and icing. We'll also get to work with temperature as we bake the pieces. The kids are looking forward to this yummy math lesson. We'll post pictures after we finish our creations.

Here is the pattern we are using so each child can make their own house.

Here is the recipe we are using. It is for a gingerbread house that you can eat. You could use salt dough, graham crackers, or even cardboard if you don't want to eat them.

Loreta’s Favorite Gingerbread Dough February 20 2008 at 9:43 PM		Loreta Wilson (Premier Login Gingerbread) Forum Owner
5 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons ginger 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon nutmeg 1 teaspoon cloves 1 cup shortening 1 cup sugar 1 ¼ cups molasses 2 eggs, beaten In large saucepan, melt shortening on stove over low heat. While shortening is melting, in a separate bowl stir together flour, salt and spices (if using for cookies, add 1 tsp. baking soda). When shortening is half melted, remove from heat and continue to stir until completely melted. Add sugar, molasses and beaten eggs. Mix well and quickly (to prevent eggs from cooking). Add molasses mixture to flour mixture. Mix well. Dough will be soft. Cover and refrigerate until firm enough to handle. When dough is firm enough to handle, remove from refrigerator and let sit until room temperature (about an hour). Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To prevent aluminum foil from slipping, wipe counter with wet sponge then smooth aluminum foil over damp counter. This will prevent the foil from slipping while dough is being rolled out. Working with a small handful of dough (about the size of a baseball), roll dough onto aluminum foil that has been sprinkled with flour. Sprinkle dough with flour to prevent dough from sticking to rolling-pin. IF DOUGH IS TOO STIFF, MICROWAVE FOR 10-15 SECONDS TO SOFTEN THE DOUGH. Roll dough to about 1/8” thickness. Place gingerbread house pattern pieces onto dough and cut-out dough pieces (don't forget to cut out windows). A pizza cutter works great for cutting out walls and roof sections. Remove excess dough pieces. Lift entire piece of foil and place on large cookie sheet. Place cookie sheet in oven. Check frequently to prevent burning. Bake until golden brown. Large pieces may bake as long as 14 minutes. Smaller pieces might take 6 – 7 minutes. Unused dough may be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for up to 2 weeks (bring to room temperature and knead briefly to use again). To prevent from sagging, I bake my roof sections until dark brown, almost burnt. When dough pieces are done baking, remove baking sheet from oven. Quickly lift foil from baking sheet and place on a flat area for gingerbread pieces to cool. If pieces have distorted while baking, while still warm, run knife or pizza cutter along sides of walls/roof sections to create a straight edge. If pieces have curled up during baking, while still warm, gently push edges down to lay flat. With gingerbread pieces still on the foil, let cool overnight. Next day – gently peel foil off of gingerbread pieces. You are now ready to assemble, or add windows! www.ultimategingerbread.com