From the Home Connection Handbook A Guide for Administrators and Teachers, Grades K-6,

Wright Group/McGraw-Hill, p. 61-63.

Do-Anytime Activities
for Grades K-3
Mathematics means more when it is rooted in real-life situations. The following activities allow
children to practice mathematics skills while riding n a car, doing chores, helping with shopping, and
performing other everyday routines These "do-anytime" activities are organized by topic and grade
level.

Visual Patterns, Number Patterns, and Counting

K Count the steps needed to walk from the sidewalk to the front door (or any two places). Try to
walk the same distance with fewer steps or with more steps.
K Practice counting past the "100 number barrier." Start from different numbers, such as 81, 92, 68,
and so on.
1 Count orally by 2s, 5s, and 10s.
1 Count and pair objects found around the house, and determine whether there's an odd or
even number of items.
2 Make a game out of doubling, tripling, and quadrupling small numbers.
2 Ask your child to count by certain intervals. For example, "Start at
zero, and count by 4s."

Addition Subtraction, Multiplication, and Division

K Show your child three objects, and count them aloud together.
Then put the objects in your pocket, a box, or a bag. Put two
more objects in with the three objects, and ask your child, "How
many are in there now?" Repeat with other numbers and with
subtraction (taking objects out of the pocket, box, or bag).
K Make up "one more" and "one less" stories. Have your child
use counters, such as pennies or raisins. For example, "The
dinosaur laid 5 eggs." (Your child puts down 5 counters.)
"Then the dinosaur laid one more egg." (Your child puts down
another counter.) "How many eggs are there?"

61
 2 Say a 3- or 4-digit number. Then have your child identify the actual value of
1 Using inthe
Fractions
the digit in each place. For example, thenumber
number grid,3,587,select
the value of the 3and
a number, is have your child point to the
3,000; the value of the 5 is K
500;
Asthe value
cut aofpizza
number theis8into
that 1ismore or 1 less than the selected number. Do problems
you equal pieces, count the pieces, and describe the
80; and the value of the 7 is 7 ones, orlike
7. this: "Count back (or up) 5 spaces. On which number do you land?"
3 Write decimals for your child topieces with their fraction names. For example, if you cut a pizza into four
read, such as 0.32 (thirty-two hundredths) and
0.9 (nine-tenths). pieces, then each piece is 1/4 of the whole pizza.
0
K Compare the sizes of the pieces as you divide a pizza into smaller and smaller
1
sections. 2 1/2 of the
"Is 3 pizza
4 smaller
5 or larger
6 7 1/4 of
than 8 the pizza?"
9 10

Thousands Hundreds Tens 1 Count 11 out eight

Ones 12 pennies
Tenths (or
14 any 15
13 Hundredths typeThousandths
of 16
counter,
17such 18
as beans
19or macaroni).
20
Ask your child
22
to show you 2 of the pennies and then 4 of the pennies. Do
1,000 100 10 this 121
with a. variety
.1 23 .01 25
24
of numbers. .001 27
26 28 29 30

1 Give31your 32 child several

33 pieces35of paper36 to 37
fold into
38 halves,
39 fourths,
40 or
34
Money and Time eighths. He or she can label each part with the appropriate fraction symbol
(1/2,1/4,
K Start a family penny jar, and collect your 1/ 42
8.) pennies.
41 family's 43 Count44 them45 46 to 47
from time 48 49 50
time.
K Read
Teach your child how to set 1theUsing athe
kitchen recipe,
timer and
Factwhen discuss
you are
Triangles, the fractions
cooking.
cover the sumin it.
forFor example,
addition ask, "How
practice. many
Cover one
1 ¼ cups
Count various sets of nickels and
of of sugar
pennies
the other would we
together.
numbers for need to get 1 cup
subtraction of sugar?"
practice. Make this brief and fun.
1 Have your child tell you the time as "minutes
Compare after the hour."tell which is larger. For example, ask,
2 Have your twochild fractions,
explain andhow to use a facts table.
2 Gather a handful of coins with a"Which
value less than $2. Have
would give you more your of
child calculate
a pizza: 1/8 of it or 1/4?"
the total value. 3 Practice addition and subtraction fact extensions. For example,
Help your child find fractions in the everyday world-in advertisements, on
2 Ask the time throughout the day. 6 Encourage
+ 7 = 13 alternate ways 60 + 70 = 130
of naming 600 + 700 = 1,300
measuring tools, in recipes, and so on.
time, such as twenty to nine for 8:40 andyour
3 Provide halfchild
past two
withfor 2:30. with missing factors for multiplication
problems
Draw name-collection boxes for various numbers, and together with your
practice. Forusing
example, "6 times what number equals 18?"
3 Have your child write the followingchild,amounts
write five a dollar
to ten sign and
equivalent names in each box. Include name-collection
decimal point: 4 dollar bills, 3Number
dimes,
boxesand forStories
2fractions
pennies;and 4 dimes and 8For example, a ½ name-collection box
decimals.
pennies; 3 dollar bills and 8 dimes; 8 pennies.
might include©2/4, Draw an analog
10/20, 0.5, 0.50, 500/1,000, and so on.
Encourage your child to figure out answers to real-life situations: "We
clock face with the hour and minute hands showing 8 o'clock. Ask
Geometry
your child to write the time shown.
have one can of tuna, and we need five. How many more do we need to
Repeat with other times, such as
3:30, 11:45, 7:10, and so on. K buy?"
Play "I Spy" with your child. Begin with easy clues, and work up to more
Have your child tell you a number story that goes with a given number
difficult ones. For example, "I spy something that is round." "I spy something
Measurement sentence,
1 that
Askisforround such
answers asto4two
and has + 2hands."
number= 6.stories
"I spythat involvethat
something twohas
or more items.
four legs and For
is a
example,
boxes, and"Icans)
K Arrange various objects (books,rectangle." wantbytovarious
buy a doughnut
size and for 45 cents and a juice box for
89 cents.
measure (length, weight, and volume) How Talk
attributes. much money
with your do I need?"
child about ($1.34)
how they are arranged usingK Look around
comparison
2 squares, words thelike
house for shorter,
taller, different geometric shapes, such as triangles,
Make up number stories involving estimation. For example, pretend that
narrower, wider, heaviest, lightest, more,circles, and rectangles.
less, about, and the same.
your child has $2.00 and that he or she wants to buy a pencil marked
1 Look
K Record family heights by marking 64¢,
foron
them geometric
a tablet a door
marked
shapes
frame. around
Record
98¢, and in
the house, at the supermarket, as part of
an eraser marked 29¢. Help your child to
architectural
centimeters as well as inches. Measure again features, and on street signs. Begin to call these shapes by their
estimate theintotal
the same location
cost of the three items (without tax) and to determine if
several months later. geometric names.
there is enough money to buy them.
.
1 Use a standard measuring tool 22 (aLook for
ruler,turns
Take 2-making
a tape and 3-dimensional
measure, up shapesand
ormultiplication
a yardstick) in division
your home and stories
number neighborhood.
to solve.
Explore
to measure objects located in the Share and
house. solutionname
Keep an ongoingthe shapes,
strategies. and brainstorm
list of items measured about their characteristics.
and their approximate lengths and widths using inches.
32 Use household
questionsitems that(such as toothpicks and marshmallows;
For example, straws;
"Seven and
2 Discuss household tools that can Ask be used to measure involve
things equal sharing.
or help solve children
twist-ties, sticks, and paper) to construct shapes.
share 49 baseball cards. How many cards does each child get?"
mathematical problems.
3
2 Gather a tape measure, a yardstick, Ask
3 Begin a ruler, a cup,Museum,
questions
a Shapes a gallon
that container,
involve equal groups.
a collection For example,
of common "Pencils
objects that area
represent
and a scale. Discuss the various things you and your child can measure with
Place
varietyValue
of 2- and 3- dimensional shapes. Label the shapes.
each. Compare to see which is the best tool for different types of measurement.
For example, "What would you 3K use Have
Search your child
for geometric
to measure press the
figures
the length number
of awith
room:your 3child.
a tapeon a Identify
calculator.
themHave him ifor her
by name
press another
measure, a yardstick, or a ruler?"possible, and talk3about
and readtheir the number. Repeat
characteristics. for 333aand
For example, stop3,333.
sign is an
2 Review equivalent names for 0 measurements.
octagon,
Say a 2-which For
hasexample,
or 3-digit 8 number.
sides and"How many
8 angles.
Then have A brick is a rectangular
your child identify the actual
cups in a pint?” prism,
value in
ofwhich
the digitall faces
in eachare place.
rectangles.
For example, in the number 952, the
value of the
9 is 900; the value of the 5 is 50; and the value of the 2 is 2 ones, or two.

2
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