Trace to Erase Your Name on the Sidewalk

When all else fails, use sidewalk chalk and water! These two are both winners for kids activities and combining them makes for a super-fantastic activity to do.

Adding a little learning to it will won’t even be noticed by the kids, I promise!

This time it was learning to recognize my toddler’s name.

But, really, it was more for teaching fine motor skills and introducing the concept of tracing, too.

How to set up this name tracing activity:

• Write your child’s name on the pavement.

• Fill a small tub with water.

• Set out water with a ‘real’ house paintbrush.

• Watch it disappear!

I wrote my toddler’s name on our patio and set out the supplies.

After a minor meltdown (because I didn’t write his name in the right spot), he traced and erased his name over and over again.

Of course, he didn’t always perfectly trace the letters. Sometimes he’d just paint over it in whatever direction he pleased. But for the majority of the time, he actually attempted to trace along the lines.

I’d give a shout out here and there letting him know what letter he was on, as well as repeatedly telling him he’s erasing his name!

We later went on to make this a shape learning activity as well.

Which makes me wonder…

What other kind of learning could you “Trace to Erase”?

• Find and erase the sight word.

• Trace numbers or letters.

• Connect numbers like a dot to dot before the water dries!
  
• Match math equations with their answer (erase them together).

• Write spelling word, trace to erase.

Summer Reflections – FREE Printable

Did your summer fly by too? Mine certainly did, and as I prep my kids to go back to school this week, I wanted to carve out some time to reflect on everything we did this summer. I decided to turn it into a printable because sometimes kids need something tangible to anchor discussions. That or a long car ride. Have you noticed that? The car is the best place to talk, but with this fun FREE printable you don’t need to waste gas just to talk. If these summer memories don’t fit your family, use the idea but make your own!

What You Will Need

• A copy of our Summer Memories Free Printable (click image to download or print)

• A pen or pencil

• You might want a smartphone or a map to figure out how many miles you travelled.

• A summer full of memories.

Time To Reflect

Take your time. I like to do activities like this at the kitchen table. I make a snack and we chat and nibble at the same time. Take the time to talk about each memory. One of the biggest discussions we had wasn’t about what we did, it was about what we didn’t do. Going back to school can be full of nerves and saying goodbye to the summer vacation can be hard. Take some time to celebrate it and start the school year with all the great memories saved.

summer memoriesPin It

This activity was so much more meaningful than I expected. My 8-year-old son was so into it and much later in the day came back to it and we discussed it much further, especially why we never roasted any marshmallows. Something to add to our must do list next summer I guess!

Math Trail Mix

We’re in full back-to-school mode here at the Cooper house. That means around 3 pm my kids will come through the front door famished, making it the perfect opportunity for them to work on their math.

Wait, what? Math when they’re hungry? Who can think on an empty stomach? Well, that’s the amazing thing about math—it’s so common in our day-to-day lives that much of it is second nature. Kids do mathematical calculations all the time without realizing it, especially when it comes to food. Take ratios. What kid doesn’t have a strong opinion about the best vegetable to protein ratio? Cheese to sauce? Milk to cocoa?

Merriam-Webster defines ratio as: the relationship that exists between the size, number, or amount of two things and that is often represented by two numbers.

Encourage the kids to put that definition to the test and see just how easy—and tasty—ratios can be.

Math Trail Mix

I’ve created a list of optional ingredients below but don’t feel limited to it. For example, we have a nut allergy, so we nix the nuts. I also added chocolate chips, which, I know doesn’t make the healthy list in everyone’s book. But while the science may still be out on whether or not it’s actually good for us, our taste buds are big fans.

You’ll Need

• dry cereal
• dried fruits (cherries, raisins, pineapple, peaches, apricots, etc.)
• pretzels
• nuts
• popcorn
• chocolate chips
• measuring cup

Directions

• We want to work with two numbers here to accurately reflect the definition of ratio. In order to do that, ask the kids to group ingredients into two categories. They can go sweet and salty or crunchy and chewy or whatever they’d like.

• Once they have the categories nailed down, group the items together in two different bowls (one per category).

• Now, they need to choose a ratio for their trail mix. For example, will they choose a:1:1 ratio, meaning there are equal part crunchy and chewy. 2:3 ratio, meaning for every two scoops of crunchy, there are three of chewy.

• Really they can choose any ratio they’d like. After they have a ratio, it’s time to make their mix. Measure out the proper scoops, place them in individual containers, and store leftovers for future afternoon snacks.

Family Focused Math Game On The Go

I cherish any opportunity to make my daughters smile, laugh, think and, hopefully, slot a pleasant sun soaked remembrance into their long term memory bank. A frequent source of such tiny moments of joy would often come while driving to and from my parents home via the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Anyone who’s ever experienced this particular drive likely knows it as one of the more tedious stretches of road in America, but getting on and off through the toll booths never failed to provide me with chances to make a pair of young girls giddy, albeit only one girl at a time. All I needed to do was make my way over to the numbered toll booth lane that corresponded with their age — hence the only one girl at a time issue — and say, “I went through #4 for you, kiddo!” I’ll admit that these small gestures were probably never the highlight of any of their days, but it was one more little way I could let them know that I was thinking about them.

As they’ve gotten older this has become more difficult, although when there is a turnpike entrance that’s 8 or even 11 lanes wide, my daughters do still get a kick out of me choosing ‘their’ lane. More often nowadays, I find myself rolling slowly though lane 2, 5 or 7, numbers which on the surface have nothing to do with my two kids — but that all changes when I begin to play this slightly goofy mental math game with them!

What You’ll Need

• a numerical prompt, like a turnpike toll booth lane

• calculator (optional, for double checking your own math prowess!)

• Toll Booth PA Turnpike Family Focused Math on the Go

Photo by Doug Kerr, used with permission under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

How to Start Playing Family Focused Math on the Go!

If you find yourself heading through a toll booth with your kids in the backseat, that’s perfect, but not at all necessary. Simply get started by using your child’s age. Let’s say your son is 5 years old — that’s a wonderful age. Now, ask him to use a variety of numbers that are relevant in your family (things like: # of pets, # of girls, mom’s age, etc), to develop a simple equation that backs into an answer of 5. Here’s an example of what I would do with my own kids, using the number 5:

My wife’s age (36) + the total number of people in our immediate family (4) divided by the current age of my youngest daughter (8) = 5.

or, let’s say your number is 7 because your daughter is that age or because she happens to wear #7 in T-Ball:

The sum of the ages of my two daughters (11 + 8 = 19) plus the number of cats we have (2) divided by the number of girls in our immediate family (3) = 7.

Family Focused Math on the Go is perfect for passing time in the car but this mental math game can be enjoyed anywhere because it requires only creativity, some basic math skills, and a lot of fun conversation between a parent and a child — and that’s always a brilliant recipe for a great time + learning.

This math game was originally inspired by my own dad’s ability to do (and his enjoyment of doing) math problems in his head. All throughout my childhood, and still occasionally today, he would spit out answers to questions like, “how many days until Christmas?”, that we weren’t yet asking because it would be mid-April. As a visual learner myself, I grew to enjoy doing the same kind of thing with numbers in my head which has helped me in numerous math classes during my school years.

Playing Family Focused Math on the Go may be beneficial for very young learners to begin to understand math concepts in a whole new way by encouraging them to ‘see’ the numbers. In the future, the simple equation of 3+2 will no longer be two cold, impersonal numbers being added together but the number of kids + adults in your family or pets + cars, and so on, and as children begin to learn about multiplication and division, the mental math possibilities become even more exciting!