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Back-to-School Math Activities

As summer ends, you may start to think about school preparation. But you may find out that your child still wants to relax. And it’s totally OK, as they just want to have fun. That’s why we are here for you with tips on how to prepare your child for a new academic year and make it smooth by incorporating back-to-school math activities.

Even parents know this subject is challenging. So, there is no wonder that your kid doesn’t want to deal with it during their break. Today, Brigtherly experts will provide you with a list of engaging games to help your child build a strong math foundation. Let’s work together!

Why is it important to engage your kids in back-to-school math activities?

Back-to-school math activities are vital, as they act as an engaging bridge between the long summer break and the academic year. No one likes to switch from the “endless summer vacation” to the repetitive tasks of the cold season, and kids are no exception. 

We recommend you soft-launch studying season and start implementing amazing back-to-school math activities to build your child’s confidence and repeat vital info from the previous class. It helps you to pinpoint students’ knowledge gaps and fill them with new skills.

Interesting activities make math enjoyable and reduce math anxiety. They also foster a positive attitude towards STEM subjects.

Let your kiddo relax before the new academic year. Implement only fun and engaging back-to-school activities.

Back-to-School Math Activities Benefits

• Enhanced problem-solving skills
• Improved critical thinking
• Boosted creativity
• Strengthened memory
• Better preparation for school
• Increased motivation
• Boosted confidence

Back-to-school math activities provide practical benefits to your child. Don’t overwhelm them to ensure that your kid will like those practices. Start slow and steady, gradually incorporating more complex concepts into the routine.

What if my child doesn’t want to take math back-to-school activities during their break?

If your child doesn’t want to take back-to-school math activities during their break, you should not scold them. It’s common for children to resist academic activities during their break. Try to gamify the learning process and incorporate the child’s interests. Tie math to their hobbies, like sports statistics or video game design.  

Talk to your child about their feelings towards math. If they like it, it’s great. If they don’t like math but prefer other subjects, you can explain how math knowledge can help them in their journey. Identify children’s challenges: maybe they have a knowledge gap that started a few years ago, or maybe they just don’t like boring school-like teaching.

School math is not the most exciting activity. If you want your child to like the math, show that it can be fun.

Offer them a few ways to do back-to-school math activities: games, hands-on projects, or even basic programming. Let your kid choose how to spend their time so they become naturally interested in math. All you need is to be patient and celebrate even the smallest wins.

How can Brighterly tutoring service help your child with back-to-school math?

We at Brighterly offer you back-to-school math sessions to help your child get back to studying and become even smarter than before. Our tutors focus on a tailored approach, where we create a personalized syllabus for your child.

Brighterly tutors pinpoint potential improvement areas and develop personalized math back-to-school activities to fill knowledge gaps. We boost your child’s confidence by providing positive reinforcement and encouragement. We connect math concepts to real-life situations. It helps our students realize the relevance of math in daily life.

Back-to-school math activities provide practical benefits by building a solid foundation, so your child will understand the “why” behind math concepts, not just blindly memorize rules. That way, your child will become even more interested in STEM subjects.

Brighterly service offers flexible scheduling options to fit your family’s routine. We are creating engaging activities into your back-to-school routine whenever and wherever you want so your kid can start their school year smarter than ever before.

Back-to-school math activities for preschoolers

• Shape hunt
• Number line hop
• Building with blocks
• Weight comparisons
• Capacity exploration
• Number puzzles
• Play with food

The back-to-school journey for preschoolers should look like fun games with occasional education sprinkles. Getting your little ones excited about math is tricky but achievable. To ensure that back-to-school math activities don’t stress the kid, incorporate math into everyday activities. For example, you can train your kids in math while shopping or working out.

However, don’t make it boring and repetitive, as this will intimidate your child. Your math during the back-to-school season should be interesting and authentic. Allow the kid to explore math concepts through hands-on activities and experimentation.

Shape hunt

Hide different shapes around the room and have the child find and identify them. You can fold your T-shirt and ask your kid to find a textile square or form a tin oval and ask them to find “something roundish but oblong.”

Number line hop

Create a number line on the floor with tape and have children hop from number to number while counting.

Building with blocks

Encourage your kid to build structures with blocks and identify different shapes within their creations.

Weight comparisons

Use a balance scale to compare the weight of different objects. You can ask them tricky questions like “What’s heavier: pound of steel or pound of feather?”. Later, you can explain the object’s density.

Capacity exploration

Fill different containers with water or sand to explore concepts of full, empty, more, and less.

Number puzzles

Create simple number puzzles with missing numbers for children to solve.

Play with food

Everyone likes to play with food, and kids are no exception. You can ask them to count macaronies, bottles of water, etc.

Math activities for 4th grade

• Place value bingo
• Math war
• Measurement Olympics

Math activities for 4th grade should be fun and entertaining. Kids in 4th grade are still in elementary, so they want something that doesn’t look like a traditional study session. You can try easy math during the back-to-school season.

By providing more fun in math back-to-school activities, you fill children’s knowledge gaps and let them learn something new without “boring rote learning.”

Let your child release their inner “granny-vibe” and play bingo and math war with them.

Place value bingo

Create bingo cards with numbers in different place values. Ensure that the winner gets a fancy price.

Math war

All you need is a bunch of cards with numbers and fantasy. Firstly, create a simple equation, complicating it along the play. The person who gets the highest result wins.

Measurement Olympics

You can ask your kid and their friends to estimate various measurements like “How long is this food tray in the diner?” or “What’s the length of this car?”. Later, you can teach them about estimations, round-offs, and conversion of different measurements.

Fun math activities for 5th -grade

• Fraction fold-a-long
• Card games
• Grocery store math
• Measurement mania

You can start introducing more complex concepts while maintaining your 5th-grade back-to-school activities entertaining. Ensure that your child likes those games and wants to play them more! That way, you spark their curiosity for STEM subjects, which will lead to increased interest in math during school. By launching math’s first day of school activities into your daily life, you can help your fifth graders develop a strong foundation in math while having a blast!

Fraction fold-a-long

Use paper to visually represent fractions and equivalent fractions. You can create different origami with your kid, decorate the house, and explain fractions.

Card games

Create card games involving addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division. You can add any rules; just ensure that it’s fun.

Grocery store math

Give your child a list of items and a budget. Ensure they get all vitals and have 5-10% of their initial money to put on their virtual “savings account.”

Measurement mania

Measure various objects around the house using different units of measurement. Teach your child how to convert one measurement into another.

Back-to-school math activities middle school

The best back-to-school math activities for middle schoolers are those who make it a part of their daily routine. Otherwise, you may witness a child’s rejection. This activity reminds them of upcoming school, so they may not like doing math in the summer since they “will do nine more months of this, so mom, just let me rest!”.

Your task as the parent is to create amazing back-to-school math activities that won’t resemble actual class preparation. You can try some general tips that boost a child’s number sense and operations

The best back-to-school math games to boost algebra skills 

• Equation battleship
• Algebraic bingo
• Mental math challenges
• Estimation games
• Real-world equation
• Graphing stories

The end of elementary and the start of middle school is a perfect time to introduce graphing calculators and explore their capabilities during back-to-school math activities. They will ease a child’s life during high school and college.

Equation battleship

Create a grid with algebraic equations. Players take turns guessing coordinates to solve equations.

Algebraic bingo

Create bingo cards with algebraic expressions and equations. Call out answers, and students cover the corresponding expressions.

Mental math challenges

Conduct regular mental math competitions between your kid and their friends to improve calculation speed and accuracy.

Estimation games

Play games that require your child and their friends to estimate quantities, measurements, or results.

Real-world equation

Tell your child an imaginary scenario and ask them to create algebraic equations to represent them. For example, “John has x marbles, but Mary has twice as many. Combined, they have 82 marbles. How many marbles does John have if he gives three more marbles to Mary?” 

Graphing stories

Create stories involving linear relationships and have students graph the corresponding equations. For example, a story about a car’s distance over time.

Math back-to-school activities for Geometry

• Shape scavenger hunt
• Geometry bingo
• Angle estimation
• Art therapy

If you want to bring your kid to the geometrical back-to-school journey, you should be even more accurate. It’s a pretty stressful subject, even for adults, so children’s study sessions should be as gentle as possible. 

Your child doesn’t need to be surgically precise during those games. Your task as a parent is to spark a natural curiosity.

The best back-to-school math game should use physical manipulatives like blocks, straws, and string to explore geometric concepts. No one likes solid theory; show your kids how math benefits them in real life when they grow up.

Shape scavenger hunt

Send a child hunting for real-world examples of chosen geometric shapes. You can ask them to find a triangle-shaped object.

Geometry bingo

Create bingo cards with geometric terms and shapes. Call out definitions or draw shapes.

Angle estimation

Ask your kid to count the angles of different objects. Use the protractor to measure the angle. We recommend you use a physical one, as software apps are still not perfect.

Art therapy

Ask your kid to draw a picture using only the geometric shapes that you choose. For instance, you can ask them to draw a still-life picture using only circles and triangles.

The best back-to-school math activities for high schoolers

• Real-world problem solving
• Math debates
• Coding challenges

Start to incorporate modern tools, such as online games, calculators, and programming, to make math more interesting for a child. Don’t scold the child and tell them that mistakes are opportunities for future growth.

Everyone loves to debate, but teenagers are fans of this practice. They have a ton of unreleased anger, so debates are the safest way to release it via planned arguments.

Encourage creativity while incorporating back-to-school math activities into daily life. Allow your child to explore different approaches to problem-solving.

Real-world problem solving

Create scenarios like budgeting, calculating taxes, or analyzing sports statistics. In any case, they will need to do it in the future, but now you can show your kid budgeting and taxation tips without additional pressure.

Math debates

Present controversial math topics and have students form arguments. High school math is full of complex and controversial topics. Let kids argue in a safe environment.

Coding challenges

Introduce coding concepts through math-based challenges. If your child decides to go IT after school, this early practice will benefit them.

Conclusion: Get Kids Talking About Math

Back-to-school math activities are crucial for your child. These easy games help them get used to the study routine without the boredom of school life. Those activities will also make your child more curious and confident. Later, they will use this confidence to become the best version of themselves.

Do you want to be sure that your child starts a new school season with boosted confidence? Book a free tutoring session with Brighterly today. Our tutors will create a customized learning plan to help your child thrive!