During the winter break from school, everyone deserves the chance to recharge and relax. However, you can also find ways to sneak in some learning to help your child avoid the “winter slide” and go back to school with a ready mind. For example, everyday activities, such as bath time, cooking, a drive in the car, or a walk, are all opportunities to help your child grasp some of the simple concepts around math. 

Math Activities for the Home

• Open-ended play and role play are great ways to incorporate concepts of math, especially if you have your kids pretend to be in a bank or a store. Have them practice counting using pretend money, or by stocking pretend food items. With this kind of role play, children are making the connection between math and real life.
• Have your child join in on holiday cooking or baking! Look at measurements together, count ingredients, and depending on their age, let them watch or participate while cooking.
• Help your child learn the concepts of sorting and categorizing by having them help with laundry and sort the clothes by color, size, or type. They can also help organize their toys and group them by size, color, or type of toy, and compare how much they have of each group. 

Math Activities for the Go

• Play a game by trying to find a clock wherever you go. If you spot one, look at the hands of the clock and count the numbers.
• While on a walk or at the playground, count the clouds in the sky. You can also talk about the weather, such as where rain comes from, and what time the moon and the sun rise and set.
• While driving in the car, look at road signs, and explain the distance between destinations while traveling. 

Learning Math by Reading 

• While reading books, you and your child can count the characters or the numbers on the page. You can also determine the start, middle, and end of the book, as well as how long it takes to read it.
• Read some lift-the-flap or puzzle books with your child. These books can help your child engage in counting the number of flaps, as well as shapes and patterns.
• After reading a story together, ask your child some math-related questions, such as “How many siblings did the character have?” or “How many apples did the character pack for lunch?”

Learning math by doing everyday activities in and outside the house can provide numerous benefits for children. They’ll be able to see how math is used in daily life and help them understand how important math is beyond the classroom. In addition, incorporating math and literacy into your winter break activities can help kids retain key concepts they learned at school, so that they can return after the holidays with their minds fresh. To find free books that can help your child with their math and literacy skills, check out https://booksmart.worldreader.org/en/BookSmart/Welcome/Start!