Teach Time Concepts
Talk about what time your family will do certain activities. Teach your child how to use the clock to know what time it is now and when the activity will take place.
Buy your young child a cool watch, even if she can't tell time yet. She'll love it, and will be learning as she wears it.
Use a kitchen timer in other rooms than the kitchen. Set the timer for getting ready in the morning and at homework time. Make it fun and challenge kids to beat their time when dawdling is a problem.
Have both digital and traditional clocks in your home. A traditional clock teaches 'the big picture' in understanding the progression of time through the day.
Teach Measurement
Let your child help in the kitchen. Buy several easy-to-read measuring tools and teach your child how to use them. A 1-2-3-4 cake is a delicious way to practice easy measuring. Rice Krispie Treats are another kid-proof recipe. Kids can count out the 40 marshmallows and measure 6 cups of cereal while you melt the butter.
Build a treehouse or fort. OK, this isn't an easy project, but you'll feel like a kid again and what could be more fun than that? Let your child help you determine the size and number of boards you will need and do the measuring, while you do the majority of the sawing and hammering. Also for safety, let your child use a cloth or wooden measuring tool rather than metal.
Teach Money
Truth is, much of our math computation through life is with money. Teach money concepts at your child's level of development and build his understanding through the years.
Occasionally give your child a certain amount of cash when you go in a store. Let him pick out what he wants to buy as you help him think about the cost and tax to figure if he can afford it.
An old-fashioned piggy bank is great, but make sure it is the kind that you can open to count the money easily. Empty your change into the piggy bank regularly, and let your child keep a running count of how much is saved. The cool LeapFrog Super Saver Teaching Bank for younger kids and Wild Planet's Room Gear ATM Safe Bank are high-tech piggy banks that keep track of deposits and withdrawals.
This is also a good opportunity to learn a vital computer skill, how to use a spreadsheet such as Microsoft Excel. Simplify your child's Excel interface with the Scholastic Keys program (see Guide Review) or use regular Excel with an older child. Set up a simple budget to track your child's allowance. Ask him to print a report weekly or monthly.
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