School Holiday Math Fun: 5 Ways to Keep Practicing

School is out for the summer! While this may mean more time for fun in the sun, it can also mean that kids may start to lose some of the math skills they've learned during the school year. This is why it's important to continue practicing math during the summer months or any school holiday break. Here are five fun ways to do just that!

• Math Mysteries: Solving math mysteries is a great way to keep math skills sharp. You can solve a math mystery alone or with a group of friends. There are a variety of different math mystery stories available here. You can browse a selection to review math for the following grades: Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, and 8th Grade. Be sure to grab this fun free one via Teachers Pay Teachers - The Case of the Super Bad Superhero too.  If you'd prefer something shorter and simpler than the mystery games above, you may like to check out Mini Math Mysteries, which are a quicker but also a fun way to sneak in some math practice. My little ones love solving these and have completed mini math mysteries since I added this fun Motivating Rank Chart for them to record their cases solved. 

​

• Card Games: Playing cards is a great way to practice math skills. Games like War, Go Fish, and Memory are perfect for practicing addition, subtraction, and other math skills. You can also make up your own games or find variations of these games online.

 

• Math Scavenger hunt: A math scavenger hunt is a great way to get kids moving while practicing math. You can do it indoors or outdoors. All you need is a list of items to find that are related to math.  For example, you can look for items that are shaped like a triangle or have the number five on them. You can also make it more challenging by looking for items that are a certain color or size. This printable Math Scavenger Hunt from This Reading Mama is free and includes 2D Shape hunts, 3D shape Hunts, Measurement, and Telling Time.

 

• Cooking with Math: Cooking is a great way to practice measuring, fractions, and other math skills. Many recipes are perfect for helping kids practice math. Here's an excellent website for some easy cooking recipes to explore with kids - My Food Book. 

 

• Math Games: Many different online and offline math games are available at your fingertips. Try a fun print and play a board game with math. Explore the App Store for some exciting math games. There are also plenty of websites that offer fun math games to play online. You may like these digital CSI Math & Math Quest games here or browse websites like Cool Math Games, Math Playground, or Math Games.com. These are a great way to keep kids engaged and practicing math simultaneously.

Math doesn't have to be boring! With these five fun ideas, your kids will be excited to keep practicing their math skills during the school holidays. Do you have any other favorite ways to practice math? Share them with us in the comments below!