May 14, 2009 - Hands-on Estimating
Estimation is a very valuable skill in real life, so I tried to make the study of it somewhat real by staging a shopping experience. We used some of Sprite's Sculpey clay foods, loosely taped onto blank business cards. Then we gave each item a price. (It's not dollars but just some unknown unit, so the prices didn't have to be realistic in any specific economy.)
We used monopoly money as our currency. (Perfect! I finally didn't have to cut little slips of paper for this living math activity!) And then we just played around -- not really a game per se with a winner and loser, but just experimenting with the foods.
We each chose a meal and then compared -- who had the most expensive meal?
I planned a day's worth of meals, and gave Sprite 200 units of money. Did she have enough to pay for it? She used estimation to solve the problem. Then she gave me problems to solve.
Then we reversed the process. I have her an amount of money and had her use estimation to plan three meals for one day and stay within budget.
Why is this fun to Sprite? The math skills are identical to solving problems in a workbook, but she adores doing these kinds of role plays. Is it the toys? The play money? The silliness? Yes, it's certainly the silliness. We made some funny meals -- spaghetti, a pumpkin, and an ice cream cake, for example. We laughed about wanting pie for dinner!
It took a small amount of prep time to set up, but the pay off is so worth it. Excitement towards math is a wonderful reward for a few minutes of making tape loops!
Comments
May 14, 2009 - Untitled Comment
Posted by 4sweetums
What a great way to bring math alive. My kids would love that.
Blessings,
Dawn
May 14, 2009 - Untitled Comment
Posted by CherylinMA
This is great Jimmie. We've played store, making change with play money but never got into the menu planning, estimation aspect. How cool!
Love the putty paws. ;)
Cheryl
May 15, 2009 - Untitled Comment
Posted by drewsfamilytx
Now that looks like a fun, hands-on activity! My boys generally love doing anything that has my direct interaction. Silliness, of course, is a huge bonus! :)
May 15, 2009 - Untitled Comment
Posted by westward
Love it, love it, love it!!!!!
May 15, 2009 - fun
Posted by momofsix
That looks like a lot of fun. What a great activity. I bet the children enjoyed it.
May 15, 2009 - Monopoly Money
Posted by amtell
If you need more Monopoly money, you can print your own online. We did this when my older children made a "Kidopoly" game to keep their younger siblings busy while they were playing the real game.
http://www.hasbro.com/games/kid-games/monopoly/default.cfm?page=strategyguide/gametools
June 7, 2009 - Untitled Comment
Posted by MusingMom
Your living math posts are just wonderful! Thanks for submitting this to the Hands On Homeschool Blog Carnival.
