Summer Learning Activity Ideas To Make Math Fun for Kids

Studies find that the more positive and confident a child feels about a school subject, the greater success they’ll have. Just in time, summer is a perfect opportunity for kids to discover that math is FUN. Read on for activities and tips for making real-life connections and experiencing math in action this summer.

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In order to access the educational movies included in our learning activities, you'll need to create a BrainPOP account. Try BrainPOP for free with a two-week trial!

Build Your Kid's Confidence in Math

How are you influencing the way your kids feel about math? Here are some simple DOs and DON'Ts for parents and guardians to keep in mind:

Do:

• Point out the many ways we use math every day (e.g., measuring for recipes, paying a bill, calculating tips)

• Engage in activities with your kids that require math, such as cooking or shopping

Don't:

• Talk about math as "easy" or "hard"

• Say “I don’t like math” or “I’ve always been bad at math” because kids may take this to mean that math skills are inheritable

Look for Fun Ways To Apply Math to Real Life

Focus on the math that kids use every day! Explore one or two math topics per week throughout the summer. Watch these educational BrainPOP movies to see how math applies everywhere, from learning to tell time to estimating a budget and much more!

For Grades K-3:

Elapsed Time

This movie teaches how understanding elapsed time can help us be on time! Watch with your kids to learn how to measure the amount of time that passes between one point and another.

For Grades 3-8:

Comparing Prices

With Tim and Moby's help, this movie helps kids discover how to sort through competing offers to find the best one.

Uncover Math All Around in Nature

 Nature is bursting with math and summer is a great time to discover its many forms! You may want to watch the BrainPOP movie Fibonacci Sequence to find out how and why this sequence shows up in nature.

Then take a walk outside to see for yourself the many epic examples of math in all its natural glory. Keep a list or take pictures of what you find along the way:

• Symmetry in butterflies, leaves, and spiderwebs

• Fibonacci sequence in flowers, such as a sunflower

• The shape of honeycombs (according to mathematicians, a honeycomb’s shape offers the perfect balance of strength and space required for honey storage)

• Patterns in rainbows, markings on animals’ coats, ripples in a pond.

Incorporate Math in the Kitchen

Calling all cooks! From measuring to timing, math is a main ingredient for cooking! Find a recipe to try, and let your kid do the calculating.

For example, if you are doubling a recipe, encourage your child to figure out which operation to use and calculate the amount you need for each ingredient. Brush up on your kid's measuring skills with the following BrainPOP topics!

For Grades K-3:

Cups, Pints, Quarts, Gallons

In this fun BrainPOP Jr. movie, Annie and Moby explain what capacity is, and how different containers can hold more or less than others.

Temperature

The temperature tells you how hot or cold something is. Watch this educational movie with your kid and learn how temperature is measured in degrees!

For Grades 3-8:

Customary Units

Tim and Moby explain exactly what customary units are, where they come from, and how they’re used in this fun and educational movie for kids.

Measuring Matter

Everything in the universe is made up of matter—but how exactly is that measured? Tim and Moby introduce your kids to mass, volume, and density, three of matter's key physical properties.