Mathematics at Home

Parents are an integral part of a child’s mathematical success. Providing a positive mindset and
attitude about mathematics and a numeracy- rich learning environment at home is important in
developing a love of mathematics in children. Many everyday activities provide opportunities
for applying and strengthening math concepts such as problem solving, estimation and critical
reasoning skills. Activities such as baking and cooking allow children to apply and deepen an
understanding of many concepts including number, measurement, spatial reasoning, fractions
and decimals.

The following activities include specific examples of ways in which parents can create a
mathematical rich environment at home through everyday activities.

1. Look for moments to add, subtract, multiply or divide. Everyday activities provide many
opportunities to practice computation. For younger children, observing that you see three of
something in one spot and six of something in another spot, and asking them how much does
that make is a simple and authentic question. An example for older students could be asking
them to use multiplication to determine the number of bricks on your fireplace. Store sales
are great opportunities to engage older children in some challenging computations by asking
how much a particular item would be if it is (10,15, 20) percent off.

2. Find opportune moments to engage in problem-solving. Ask questions and then work
together to figure out the answer. For example: How can we figure out how much wallpaper
we need for our kitchen? What do we need to think about so that we can make a list of
groceries for the birthday party? If we have $200 to spend on food for our camping trip what
would we buy? Why? Our lives are filled with problem-solving using mathematics.

3. Count, count, count! Count everything—put 15 apples in the bag at the grocery store, or
count the number of cookies in the package. The possibilities are endless! Be sure to also
introduce estimation into this routine. Learning to develop reasonable estimates IS important
for students as they develop their skills in mathematical thinking.

4. Count in many different ways. Introduce your child, gradually, to the many ways that we
count: by 1’s, 2’s, 3’s, 5’s, 10’s. Once familiar with these patterns, try counting by larger
numbers (think 6 to 9). What about counting forwards and backwards, starting at different
numbers? Try counting by starting at different numbers, (e.g. start at 25 and count forwards
by 2s or 10’s.).

5. Deliberately use mathematical words. Math is all around us. Use words and questions that
describe time (half past, five minutes after and so on), shape, measurement (length,
temperature, for example). Point out to your child that what you are talking about and using
is math—and that math helps us all the time in our lives.

6. Bake with your child. Why do we measure amounts when baking and why do we have
different sizes and types of measurements ( size- millilitre, litre; types- liquid, dry)? We use
fractions to measure when we bake (e.g. 1/2 cup)—what do those fractions mean? How
would you calculate amounts to double a recipe?
7. Play! Build! Children love to play store or restaurant. What an opportune time to add and
also make change with play or real money! Many board games are full of math (dice). Don’t
forget about card games, dominoes, puzzles, checkers, and so on. Mathematics is also about
spatial reasoning. Building using varied materials such as blocks and LEGO are beneficial in
this development.

8. Find the math all around! There are numbers everywhere: on houses, on thermostats, on
hockey jerseys, on busses, on speed limit signs, in phone numbers. Why do we use these
numbers? Look for shapes in your home, neighbourhood, playground. (e.g., our house has a
rectangular door; our windows are square, our house is a rectangular prism). What patterns
can you find in nature? What patterns can you find in manmade objects? In art pieces?

9. Read a picture book together. There are many picture books (for varied age groups) that are
engagingly written and illustrated that have to do with math. Read any picture book with
your child, discuss the meaning, and add some mathematical discussion to it as well!

10. Projects around the home. Invite your child to participate in taking measurements for a
purpose, for example: “What size of a mirror should we buy for our bathroom?” Be sure to
use both standard measurement (e.g., centimetre, metre) and non-standard (e.g., hand
lengths, footsteps) units.

Perimeter and area are important measurement calculations in real life. Be sure to highlight
these when the opportunity arises (setting up a garden, for example). Perimeter is the
distance around the outside of a space. Area is the amount of space that the object takes up.
Examples: How much baseboard (perimeter) is needed for a room renovation? How many
litres of paint are needed to paint a room (area). How many seeds or plants can be planted
in the garden you created?

11. Find opportunities to use fractions. Fractions show part of a whole. Point out 1/2, 1/3,
1/4, 1/8, etc. in recipes, when ordering pizza or cutting a cake. Demonstrate with many
examples that 1/4 of something is smaller than 1/2 of that same thing.

12. Ordering food night The possibilities are endless here. We have $60—what can we order,
in what quantities and what is the total cost? What if we want to add a tip? Online menus
make this activity easy and fun. Be sure to use calculators when the numbers get too high!

13. On the road Lighten a road trip by playing number games with your family. What can we
look for and who can find it? Be specific in what to search for: Can you find signs with
specific speed limits, specific shapes in buildings, house numbers greater or less than
another number, and so on.

Source: Encouraging Math Learning at Home: A Guide for Parents. Ontario English Catholic
Teachers Association (2016)