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FOR PARENTS ON ADDING "MATH-MAGIC" TO THE SEASON
Created by
Cyrilla and Carey Bolster
1. Holiday Scavenger Hunt - This is an activity you and your child can both create and play. Scavenger hunts include a series of clues that, if followed in order, will lead you to a present or surprise. You will need several envelopes, small boxes or even folded paper containing clues, such as "Look under the sofa on the right side", "Check your sock drawer and the clue is in a black sock", "Go to the bookcase, 2nd shelf 3rd book from left page 178", " etc. The last location holds a surprise, but the real fun for kids is the excitement of the game! Create a 'hunt' and let your child discover the surprise. Play this with your child before the holiday family gathering, and encourage your child to create his/her unique game for a sibling, cousin or family friend. It's even more fun if the small boxes are each gift wrapped with the clues inside, adding to the excitement of opening gifts to get the next hint, and the final box is the actual gift. This activity requires the same skills used when programming a computer. Often there will be mistakes in the clues (programs), which need to be more precise. Laugh often when you wind up where it wasn't intended. Work together to 'reprogram'.
2. Calendar Countdown - Any holiday is a busy time for everyone involved. This is the perfect time to involve children in preparing the family calendar of events. Calendar planning together helps the family members be aware of each person's commitments, and helps children to plan ahead for events. Ask: What are our family traditions? Let's put each one on the calendar. What are each person's activities? When is the school play? If we need to make gifts or homemade treats, what date should we start? If posted in the kitchen, you can review the calendar each morning with your child. Ask questions like: We have the play on the 27th, what day of the week is this? How many days do we have to get ready for the family dinner? Did we allow enough time to send invitations? Learning to read and interpret information contained in a table, (the calendar), is an important math skill. Learning to apply it in this way is motivating, and is a real life skill!
3. Kitchen Math - There are many holiday opportunities for time together in the kitchen. Following recipes provides important measurement experiences.
Make a holiday punch or wassail. As you follow the recipe, you will be doing proportional thinking. Pose situations to your child such as: The recipe makes 3 servings but we have 6 people coming. How much of each ingredient do we need? Be sure to talk about the thinking involved and check to be sure the amounts are correct prior to making the punch, then actually make the measures.
Make cookies: Even if you use pre-mix cookie dough, you can involve your child by having them make cookies in different geometric shapes or even the shapes of numbers. You can include several plus signs, minus signs and equal signs to make up "cookie sentences". Kids can arrange the cookies on a plate for the family to see how clever they are. Don't forget you can use shapes like a button to imprint designs on cookies. Be sure to boil all the materials before using them for imprinting.
Fruit Skewer Appetizers: Prepare a selection of bite-size fruits and treats for young guests, such as pineapple, cherries, mini-marshmallows, grapes, etc. Work with your child to create a pattern (pineapple, cherry, pineapple, cherry) as you skewer the fruit. Have your child repeat the pattern, continuing it to fill the fruit skewer. Have them create a new pattern, (pineapple, cherry, cherry, and marshmallow) and repeat it. You could have bowls filled with fruit and wooden skewers for each child attending the holiday party to make their own pattern. The other kids have to guess the pattern. Continue this process, varying the pattern each time, as you prepare interesting appetizers for your young friends.
4. Design Holiday Cards - You will need inexpensive thin sponges and washable poster paint which can be easily found. Buy some envelopes and cut paper to fit the envelope. Have your child draw an outline of several holiday shapes or designs on the sponges. (Cyberchase characters can be downloaded from the web site but any figures will do). Then, depending on the age of your child, cut out the sponge designs. Now work together to see what the design may look like. If you dip the sponge in water you can experiment with the design and the water dries clear. Then dip the sponges in the paints to print the design on your card, and let it dry. Add a message if you want. Discuss the idea of size, the use of space, and symmetry while making the cards. The feedback from others when they get the handmade card is unforgettable.
5. Gift Wrap Combinations - Involve your child when you wrap gifts for others. Lay out 2 types of wrapping paper and 3 kinds of ribbon. Ask your child to describe all different possible combinations that can be made. Then using a snippet of the wrapping paper and pieces of ribbon actually diagram the 6 different choices. If you add one more color ribbon, describe the new combinations that can be made. (In this case there would be 8 different combinations, (2 papers times 4 ribbons is 8 different combinations.). Give your child small snippets of each and ask him/her to move the pieces around to demonstrate the wrapping choices. Relate this idea to making outfit combinations using shirt, pants and shoes. The results are somewhat surprising.
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