A couple of weeks ago while on a shopping trip, I engaged my usually bored son by getting him to help me figure out how much money I would save if I bought items that were 50% off. I also had a coupon for an additional 20% off and he divided those amounts as well and then multiplied the number of items. He found this exercise fascinating!

We went to the children's department and got an Abacus for him. On the way home he figured out all his multiplication tables using his abacus. He was amazed how simple it was and how quickly our long drive was over.

Since our shopping trip he has become fascinated with coupons. I explained to him how some grocery stores double and triple coupons so he figures out how much money will be saved using the coupons.

All these exercises teach him not only math skills but also the value of a dollar. He also sorts and bags aluminum cans for recycling and is allowed to keep the money and choose to either spend it or put it in his savings.

At first he wanted to spend his money. Then we sat down and added up how much more money he would have in his savings account and he decided he wanted to save his money for the long term.

I try to maximize the time we spend in the car because he gets bored easily and tends to distract me while I'm driving. I decided we needed to work on foreign languages more. Usually we listen to foreign language CD's in the car since we encounter massive traffic living in a large city. This way we maximize our learning time.

All these activites are fun for my son and he gains more pride in using his mind and learning anywhere anytime, not just at home or in a classroom type setting.