PATINS Logo
Promoting Achievement through Technology and INstruction for all Students
Font size: +

Summer Activities!

Summer is almost here, and I’m excited to share some outdoor time with my cousin who will be in 9th grade in the Fall. I work with him during the school year, helping out with his homework and studying for quizzes and tests. We work especially hard on Math, and he has shown tremendous growth and I want to keep it going. So I have been looking for ways to incorporate Math into the activities he enjoys. Here are a few ideas I have come up with so far:

  1. Having him pay with cash when we go somewhere, and then checking to see if he receives the correct change.
  2. Letting him help with navigation to the places we go. Which direction are we going? How many gallons of gas do we need?
  3. He enjoys baseball, and there are many statistics that we can talk about and how they are figured.
  4. Cooking may not be his favorite activity, but occasionally I can get him to help out. We talk about measurements and conversions. When we have cookouts, he gets to figure out how many hotdogs, hamburgers, etc. we need for everyone.
  5. When we go shopping for shoes or something he truly wants, we get the opportunity to compare prices and to figure out how much 20% off saves us.
  6. I am hoping to build a project with him, and we can use the tape measure and figure out the amount of materials we will need.
  7. I take him out to eat, and I have him look at the calories we will consume. He can also help me figure out the tip.
  8. We play board games like Monopoly, and this includes money skills and budgeting. Battleship helps with graphing and logical reasoning. Connect 4, Clue, Chess, and Checkers help with planning strategy. Yahtzee and Rummikub are fun ways to work on math skills as well.
  9. He spends much of his time playing video games, so I encourage him to play games that involve strategy and planning.

I also encourage him to read all year long, but especially in the summer. I must admit, this has undoubtedly been a challenge! These are some ideas that I have used, or that I am planning to use over the summer.

  1. I take him to the library. I can’t always get him to read while we are there, but they always have a puzzle out so we work on it, and I encourage him to find something to check out.
  2. I am also going to encourage him to listen to audiobooks over the summer to see if he would enjoy them.
  3. I buy him used comic books which he seems to genuinely enjoy. They are inexpensive, and he will usually read them. I try to ask lots of questions about them when he has finished, so we can work on comprehension.
  4. When we build our project, I will have him read any written directions that we come across. 
  5. I will also take any chance I get to have him read in any activity that we do. He can read directions when we are playing games, and he can read recipes or the grocery list when we go to the store.

These are just a few ideas that I have come up with. There are many other ideas, activities, and a wealth of information available with a search on the Internet. What ideas do you use with your students or children that you have found to be successful? Please share with me via the comments section.

2
Predictably Successful Outcomes from Purposeful De...
"...regardless of the content we teach, we are all...
 

Comments 1

Guest
Guest - Glenda Thompson on Friday, 21 May 2021 10:47

I want to spend the Summer with you Sandy!
Another good Math game is...RACKO.
Enjoy the time with your cousin.

I want to spend the Summer with you Sandy! Another good Math game is...RACKO. Enjoy the time with your cousin.
Guest
Tuesday, 19 March 2024

Copyright © 2015- PATINS Project
To Top