Learning With Playdough

My boys love playdough, both the store kind and the homemade kind.  But besides playing with it, did you know that you could use playdough for learning as well?  Here are a few ideas:


Learning the letters of the alphabet - Have your child create the letters of the alphabet with playdough.  If they are passed this, you could also say, "Show me the beginning sound of dog" and have your child create the letter d.

Retell the story - Have your child use playdough to retell a story they have just read (or that you have read to them).

Math Facts - Your child can model math sentences using playdough.

Science- Have your child use playdough to model life cycles of animals such as a frog or a butterfly.

Geography - Have your child use the playdough to make a map of your state.

Big Snow Poem

PBS has an animated poem entitled "Big Snow" available to watch now.  The poem is narrated as the words flash across the screen, perfect for your beginning reader.

Big Snow Video

For more snow learning fun, try these resources:

Snowflake Tracer Template

Snowflake Grouping

Snowflake Addition


Snowflake Subtraction

Snowman Math Game

Making Learning Fun  has this adorable Printable Snowman Game that you can print out for several fun math activities with your kiddos.  Just grab a few cottonballs and a die and get ready to play!  You can play using the directions provided, or try one of these variations:

 1. Write the numbers from 1 to 10 and have your child cover that number when they roll that number.

2. Have your child cover one circle for each odd number rolled, and two circles for each even number rolled.

3. Have your child roll the die, cover that many circles, then tell you how many they would need to roll to cover the remaining circles.

Road Trip Learning

Many people will be embarking on road trips this Thanksgiving holiday to visit family and friends.  You can use your road trip to add to your child's learning!

Add up the signs

You can use the distances on signs to practice key operational skills such as adding and subtracting.  Have them add up the distances such as in the sign above - they could add 46 + 107.  Or they could subtract as well.

Find a Word
Use a word from a road sign - such as Sacramento - how many words can they find? 
Sacramento (rent, ram, meant, to, etc.)

Take a tally
Have your child practice tallying up the things they see.  They could tally the # of trucks, stop signs, etc.  Make it an extra challenge for your older kiddos by asking them additional questions - What percentage of those trucks were Fed Ex trucks?

ABC Find it
Have your child look for all of the letters in the alphabet on road signs or license plates.

What other ideas can you think of?

Lots of resources for learning about fractions!

If you are working on teaching your child about fractions, here are several great resources:

Fraction Circles

Equal Parts Fraction Worksheet

Cookie Recipe Math

Fraction Word Problems

Fruit Loop Fractions Activity

Pizza Fractions Math Journal

Comparing Fractions Quiz

Candy Corn Math Activity

There is something about combining candy with math that makes math a little more enticing for kids.  My boys absolutely LOVE candy corn, so I decided to make a math activity that incorporated this fall favorite.

Supplies:

* 1 package of mixed candy corn (I grabbed the wrong one at the store, but we made it work anyway)

* Candy Corn Tasting Math Activity Worksheet

Directions:

1. Print out the Candy Corn Tasting Math Activity Worksheet here.

2. Give your child a handful of mixed candy corn and have them determine the fractions of each kind and graph.

There are also some writing activities included as well.

Here are some more candy corn activities:

Candy Corn Multiplication

Candy Corn Template

The Candy Corn Contest Reading Comprehension Test

Math Dice Games

There is something about rolling a pair of dice that makes math so much more fun than filling out worksheets!  I found this large pair of dice (the bigger the better in my boys' opinion) at the dollar tree, and we have been having tons of fun practicing math!

Here are a few ideas:

For the younger ones:

Greater or less than: Roll both dice and determine which number is bigger. You can have the child write on a dry erase board to practice writing the greater or less than symbol if they are ready.

Addition:  Have your child add the dots on both dice together.

Subtraction: Have your child subtract the smaller number from the larger number.

For older kiddos:

Multiplication: Have your child multiply the numbers together.

Fractions: What fractions can your child make with the numbers they roll?  If they use the larger number as the numerator, they can practice working with mixed numerals.

Dice Number Writing Practice

Dice Views Worksheet

Throw the Dice Game

Greater, less than, or equal to game

Nuts about Numbers Game

Butterfly Addition

Dice Addition Games