Math Outside

Welcome to my first blog post! Learning opportunities are all around us. In this post, I will share some fun ways you can engage with your child in math outside.

If you live in a place where it is finally summer, do not waste any opportunities to find math outside. It doesn’t matter if your child is learning to identify numbers or doing multiplication. There are plenty of opportunities to find math all around you.

One of my favorite places to do math is at the beach. You can use seashells for counting or addition. You can also take a walk on the beach and group different beach elements together. Rocks and shells can be great math tools.

Young children can also make numbers using seashells, outside elements, or even drawing in the sand. Creating numbers by building them can be a great way for children to learn how the numbers are formed.  If your young child is having trouble writing their numbers, sometimes it can be helpful to have them form the numbers with something other than pencil and paper.

Encourage your child or students to see the math all around them. I tell my students that we use our math skills every day, and sometimes we don’t even realize it! I promise it will be an amazing learning experience for them.

Here are some suggestions that you and your child can work on at home.

*Counting or adding with seashells

*Creating numbers using beach elements

*Writing numbers in the sand

*Making shapes in the sand

*Finding numbers at the beach on signs

If you don’t have a beach near you, you can still have fun with math outside! Maybe you have acorns or flowers where you are. Math is all around us!

*Counting or adding with acorns

*Forming numbers using the nature around you

*Grouping nature elements into equal groups

*Creating patterns outside (ex. Acorn, acorn, leaf, acorn, acorn, leaf)

The opportunities are endless!