Add it Up: 25 Ways to Make Math Fun

By Janeen Lewis

Does your elementary-aged child suddenly get a stomach ache the day of a math test? Maybe your middle schooler constantly declares “I hate math!” or your high schooler doesn’t like Algebra because he or she doesn’t see how it connects to real life.

If any of this sounds familiar, there is good news. Recent research shows that despite what they may think, most students can succeed at high levels in math. While it may be hard to disguise a dislike of math, if parents model a positive outlook, children are more likely to feel the same way. Research also shows that students like math more when they understand how it applies to their future.

Here are 25 easy ways parents can make math fun, interesting and relevant, and ultimately help children become better at it.

1. Use measuring and fraction skills when you bake or cook with your child. When the measuring cup or spoon you need is dirty, ask your child to use a different size utensil correctly to get an equivalent amount.
2. Use grocery store math. For example, have your child figure out how many pounds of produce to get without going over a certain dollar amount. Say, “Please weigh and bring me three dollars’ worth of granny smith apples.”
3. Take math outdoors. Make a hopscotch with addition or multiplication facts in the squares. Pick up sticks or use straws and make as many interconnecting squares or triangles as possible on the grass. Or Combine math with your child’s favorite sport. For example, if your child likes baseball, assign different points for single, double and triple hits. Have your child keep score.
4. Check out Texas Instruments’ “STEM Behind Cool Careers” at www.education.ti.com/en/activities/stem/gen-stem for a variety of videos connecting algebra, geometry and physics to real world jobs like fashion design, flying jets and more. Students can also take a quiz at this site to find their “stem style.”
5. Learn about the lives of famous mathematicians and what they accomplished. Some interesting mathematicians include Pythagoras, Archimedes, Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, John Nash, Hypatia of Alexandria, Julia Robinson, Emily Noether and Maryam Mirzakhani.
6. Let your child plan a special dinner. Then give them a budget and let them shop for the ingredients without going over the budget.
7. Make technology your friend. Games and apps make learning math facts more fun than flash cards and drills. For homework help, try Didax’s virtual manipulatives at www.didax.com/math/virtual-manipulatives.html.
8. Introduce your teen to a fun math club. FIRST Lego League and FIRST Tech Challenge involve math, science and engineering skills.
9. Plan a trip together, calculate the miles you will travel at a designated speed. Decide how long it will take to get there.
10. Give your child an allowance that they have to manage. Together decide how much they will save, spend and give away.
11. If your child is a teen with a job, help them write a budget and open a savings account.
12. Teach your child mental math tricks. These are like magic tricks in the math world, breaking down calculator-size problems into problems that can be solved mentally. Try Thoughtco.com for 9 Mental Math Tricks and Games at www.thoughtco.com/mental-math-tricks-games-4177029.
13. Sing songs and watch math music videos. Check out “Schoolhouse Rock!” (“Multiplication Rock” and “Money Rock”) and “Numberock.” They are catchy ways to teach important math concepts.
14. Read picture books. “Bedtime Math” includes fun short stories with math questions for different age levels and promotes discussion of math strategies. Other good ones include “The Greedy Triangle,” “The Grapes of Math” and” How Big is a Foot?” “G is for Googol” is an alphabet book for tweens and teens.
15. Have your tween or teen pick out the make, model and year of a car they would like to buy when they are 18. Look up the value of the car and figure out how much they will have to earn every week until they are 18 to buy the car.
16. Get up and move! Take a brain break and play a math-themed YouTube or GoNoodle video that teaches about a math concept. These videos combine movements with vocabulary to help kinesthetic learners.
17. Go on a shape hunt. Find various geometric shapes around your house and yard. Draw or take photographs and label the shapes and what they comprise (for instance, the roof, the mailbox, the deck railing) and make your own version of a book like Tana Hoban’s Shapes, Shapes, Shapes.
18. Have daily countdowns to special events or do a ___ shopping days until Christmas starting on January 1^st.
19. Redecorate their rooms. Have your teen do a to scale layout drawing of the room to make sure new furniture or decorations will fit. Teens and younger kids alike can measure windows and floor space to make sure curtains and rugs fit before buying.
20. Play board and card games that inspire mathematical thinking. Some to try are Uno, Crazy Eights, Mathopoly, Qwirkle, Yahtzee, and Rummikub.
21. Tell math jokes. Yes, they can be corny, especially for teens, but keep it humorous and light, and they may just remember the vocabulary.
22. Have fun with food. Cut food into fractional parts and use the food fractions to introduce equivalent fractions. For younger children, cut sandwiches and pizzas evenly and talk about equal parts.
23. Take a tour of your local bank. Talk to your child about words like loan, interest and principal.
24. Celebrate special math days like the 100^thday of school. On Pi Day talk about what it means and why it is important. Make your child’s favorite pie.
25. Put math in their hands. Use Legos to teach about area and perimeter. Math manipulatives like rulers, seamstress tapes, tangrams, pattern blocks, play money, fraction bars, counters, and geometric shapes are great for kids to make discoveries with while playing.

Janeen Lewis is a freelance writer and certified teacher with a Master’s Degree in education. She loves to see children get excited about learning math.