Our Homework Center Librarian Kate has come up with a list of fun ways to keep your child academically engaged at home. Check out her suggestions for how to incorporate scholastic skills into everyday life!
For little ones, have them count things while they help you around the house.
- How many shoes are on the family shoe rack, or coats hanging by the door?
- How many books need to go back on the bookshelf?
- How many forks do we need to set the table for our family?
Addition subtraction, multiplication, division and fractions all have plenty of uses in the kitchen.
- If my recipe calls for four cups of flour and I have added two, how many more should I add?
- If we’re sharing a bag of candies, how many do we each get if we divide the bag evenly?
- If the recipe is too large or too small for our family, how do we make a half-recipe or double it?
Rearrange a bedroom!
- Measure and draw a scale version of the room and its contents.
- Use those measurements to plan the new arrangement.
- If a more tactile version is useful, cut out each of the furniture “models” and arrange them on the map of the room. Don’t forget doors, windows and closets while thinking about a new arrangement!
Write letters or draw pictures for family far away.
- Look at maps to see how those letters will travel to get from your house to your loved ones.
When you go out for a family walk, observe all the types of wildlife you see.
- Take pictures or notes of birds or bugs you see and use the internet to identify them when you get home