Pumpkin Math

Tyler had a fun math activity in his workboxes this week and I thought we would share.  
I bought some mini pumpkins at the grocery store the other day although this would work equally well with regular size pumpkins.  I then made him a  worksheet  to go with the pumpkins.  The activity focuses on measuring the diameter, radius, circumference, and area of a circle.  It was lots of fun!
The first thing he did was to put each pumpkin on a piece of paper and traced around it.

Next, he measured the diameter and radius.  After that he took string and put it over the traced circle so that he could measure the circumference.

 

He was then able to calculate the area of each.  He did great!  He really enjoys these hands on activities.

 

Here is our worksheet if you would like to give it a try.

 

Pumpkin Math

Planning a Homestead Math Activity

On Tuesdays I like to include a fun hands on math activity in Tyler's workboxes.  I got the idea for this one from an old magazine.  I used Word to print out the instructions and put some construction paper, scissors, ruler, and glue in his box.  This activity works on measuring, perimeter, and area.  He really enjoyed this so I thought we would share this one. 

I gave him a piece of regular sized brown construction paper which represents his piece of land.  He also was give a chart that stated what things he needed to fit on his land.  It gave the measurements for each object so he could measure them and then cut them out. 

He needed to write the name of each object, the perimeter, and the area on the rectangle.  He also chose to make a small picture to identify the object.  When he had cut out all the objects he arranged them on the paper (his land) and glued them down when he was satisfied with their locations.

He did all this pretty independently except I did kind of tell him it might be a problem if he placed his vegetable garden too far from his house and barn.  Although I am sure the animals would appreciate it!

This his finished map.  He liked it so much I am thinking next week we might do a zoo, amusement park, or shopping mall.

If you would like to use the instructions I made for Tyler for this activity you can get them here:

Build Your Own Homestead 

Apple Tree Poster Centers

I have been wanting to incorporate more learning centers into our workbox schedule this year.  The problem is that with only two children and both being so different that after they are done using a center they are not used again unless I can find someone to give them to. I have been trying to think of some ideas for centers that can be changed around and reused by each child in different ways.  I made an apple tree poster center for each of my boys this weekend and I am excited about them because I think they can be used longer than some things I have created in the past.

Tyler's Apple Tree

For Tyler's apple tree I took a blue poster board.  I then cut out a tree out of a brown and a green poster board and attached them to the blue board.  My wonderful teachers assistant (my husband) took it to the local teacher supply store and had it laminated because I only have a small laminator.  I then used diecut apples and wrote one side of some of the equivalent mesurement problems he has been working on in math.  I laminated them and attached them to the tree with velcro.

After that I used Microsoft word to create a template for the flash cards that go with the poster.  Each card has an equal sign on it and I wrote the other side of an equivalency to go with the apples.  I then laminated the flash cards and attached a small strip of velcro to the side of the equation on wich the apple will go.  I holepunched the cards and put them together with a book ring.  They are hanging by the poster on a small hook.

His job at this center is to look at each card and find the matching apple and attach it to the card.

These cards and apples are for linear measurements but I hope to make some for liquid measurement, vocabulary words, Bible verse and reference matching, and a lot more. It took me awhile to make this but with a template saved on Word for the cards it will be simple for me to make a lot more sets.  Tyler was interested in the new poster and asked if he will be doing it tomorrow.  He likes anything that gives him an opportunity to get out of his seat and do something hands on.  I think this will be a favorite.

Christian's Apple Tree

Christian's apple tree started in exactly the same way as Tyler's.  His activities will obviously be a lot simpler.  It is important when trying something new with him that his initial experience be very positive and easily accomplished.  I made this a very simple two color sorting activity.  I first printed an apple pattern on to both green and red cardstock. I then laminated them and velcroed them on to the tree.  I used to Jello boxes for the sorting pockets.  I covered them with white cardstock and glued on a matching apple.

I also used velcro to attach the boxes to the poster so in the future I could use other boxes for different activities.

I forsee also using this poster for a variety of activities.  I will start with matching activities and then hopefully move on to classifying.  I hung this on the wall this afternoon and he took me over to check it out.  He completed it with me and so I think he will enjoy his poster a lot! 

Fantasy Football and Mathematics

 

 

I was looking for books for my football obsessed son when I came upon this great workbook.  It is intended for middle school aged math students.  Here's how it works. You will create a Fantasy Football team by picking real-life players, following your players' statistics, and calculating your team's total points using one of the equations your teacher provides. In addition to the basic Fantasy Football game, your workbook contains worksheets for extra practice on 46 different math concepts.

I am really looking forward to using this as a supplement to our regular math this fall.  I was absolutely amazed at the wide array of math topics it covers.   Who knew you could relate football to so much.  I love the ability to cater to a child's interests that homeschoolers have.  They do have similiar books for both basketball and baseball also if they are more popular sports in your family. 

For my son, however, it is all about football!

More Tree Blocks

I am so inspired by our new tree blocks and Tyler seems to really enjoy them.  Last night when I was up waiting for Christian to go to bed I made this coordinate plane on a piece of poster board.  I was going to have Tyler make this too but I thought about it and decided it was going to be too long and tedious of a task for him and I wanted him to focus more on the activity itself.  Here is our graph:

Inspired by one of the activity cards that come with the kit I typed out these sheets on Word.  I am so proud of how much easier it is for me to use word these days!  

I am not sure how well you can read that but to sum it up I gave him two different tasks.  The first was to put "trees" of certain sizes at exact coordinates on the plane.  This way he had to both measure the blocks and then graph the coordinates.  The second activity was to "plant" his "trees" where he wanted them and then write down the coordinates on the sheet. Here are some more pictures.

I put the blocks he would need and the worksheets in his box and the graph by the shelves.  I am thinking this could also be set up as a center activity though and you could do it with objects other than the tree blocks such as toy cars on a road graph or Thomas trains on a rail graph.  Once you made the graph you could really include any objects and make up activity sheets or cards of your own.  Tyler has already asked me if he can use the graph later to play with.  I am betting he is going to use it to graph something to do with football which he is obsessed with.  Just thought I would offer up some ideas.  Have a great day!