Take your vacation with computation!
Summer Suggestions for Mathematics:
Entering Kindergarten
 COUNT everything and anything! Count the number of flowers in a
garden or the boxes in your grocery cart. Count socks in the laundry
basket. Count objects positioned in a line and then try to count backwards
taking away one object at a time. Count something every day!
 Examine number relationships. (Ex. “You have 6 seashells and I only
collected 2. Who has more shells?”) (Ex. “I had 8 potato chips, but then
you gave me 2 of yours. Now how many do I have?”…after child answers
you can respond with “Oh, 10 is 2 more than 8,” etc.)
 Think about all the ways to “make 5”. Take 5 counters (5 pennies or 5
bottle tops or 5 paper clips, etc.) and consider the different ways they can
be broken into parts and then put together. (4 and 1 will make 5, as will 3
and 2 or 5 and 0.) These relationships are a great foundation for
computation.
 Measure! Children need many experiences with a wide variety of
measurement tools before they really understand what measurement is all
about. Use rulers, measuring tapes, scales, measuring cups, and measuring
spoons to work on either real or make believe projects. Talk about when
and how we use the different tools! Compare objects using words such as
longer, shorter, heavier, lighter, etc.
 Explore money! Our money system looks incredibly inconsistent to
children. Pennies are larger than dimes but dimes are worth more.
Quarters come with a variety of “tail” images. Don’t even get us started on
what’s recently been done to the nickel! Take out some coins and just look
at them, noting the different names and perhaps mentioning the values.
Play a treasure hunt game with a pile of coins on the table, asking your
child to find and pick up whichever coin you name. Start a collection of
coins that have the same name but look a little bit different. Discuss how
you can still tell they are the same coin.
Take your vacation with computation!
Summer Suggestions for Mathematics:
Entering 1st Grade
 COUNT everything and anything! Count the number of flowers in a garden or the
boxes in your grocery cart. Count socks in the laundry basket. Count objects
positioned in a line and then try to count backwards taking away one object at a
time. Count something every day!
 Examine number relationships. (Ex. “You have 12 seashells and I only collected 9.
Who has more shells?” How many more are in your pile than in mine? How many
less are in my pile than in yours?) (Ex. “I had 8 potato chips, but then you gave
me 4 of yours. Now how many do I have?”…after child answers you can respond
with “Oh, 12 is 4 more than 8,” etc.)
 Think about all the ways to “make 10”. Take 10 counters (10 pennies or 10 bottle
tops or 10 paper clips, etc.) and consider the different ways they can be broken
into parts and then put together. (5 and 5 will make 10, as will 4 and 6 or 3 and 7,
etc.) These relationships are a great foundation for computation.
 Start to memorize some basic addition or subtraction facts. Many Kindergartners
have worked on making 5, so you might start with all the addition and subtraction
facts (0+5, 1+4, 2+3, 3+2, 4+1, 5+0 and when these are mastered, 5-0, 5-1, 5-2, 5-3,
5-4, 5-5.) Students greatly benefit from considering the relationships between the
addition and subtraction facts. Two parts, such as 4 and 1, make the whole value
5. When you take away one of the parts, such as 4, you are left with the other part,
the 1.
 Measure! Children need many experiences with a wide variety of measurement
tools before they really understand what measurement is all about. Use rulers,
measuring tapes, scales, measuring cups, and measuring spoons to work on either
real or make believe projects. Talk about when and how we use the different tools!
Compare objects using words such as longer, shorter, heavier, lighter, etc.
 Explore money! Our money system looks incredibly inconsistent to children.
Pennies are larger than dimes but dimes are worth more. Quarters come with a
variety of “tail” images. Don’t even get us started on what’s recently been done to
the nickel! Take out some coins and just look at them, noting the different names
and perhaps mentioning the values. Play a treasure hunt game with a pile of coins
on the table, asking your child to find and pick up whichever coin you name. Start
a collection of coins that have the same name but look a little bit different. Discuss
how you can still tell they are the same coin.
Take your vacation with computation!
Summer Suggestions for Mathematics:
Entering 2nd Grade
 Practice addition and subtraction facts frequently for an easy transition into
2nd grade! Try and review some facts for at least five minutes every single
day. Students entering second grade should memorize all addition facts
with sums up to 10 and the related subtraction facts. Once these are
mastered you can begin working on facts with sums up to 20.
 Practice counting backwards from 20 in the summer and subtraction will be
easier in the fall! Discuss related number relationships, such as “What
amount is 1 less than 12?” “What value is 3 less than 9?” etc. You can
also discuss these ideas in context such as “I have 12 eggs. How many will
I have after I use 1? How many will be left if I need to use 2?”
 Get ready to skip count: Try counting by 5, 10, and 100 as you travel, shop,
or just relax. Discuss how the next number is 5, 10, or 100 more. Relate
skip-counting to adding the same amount “over and over.”
 Apply skip-counting and counting skills to evaluating the total amount of
small coin sets. Find the total amount of some dimes, some nickels, a
combination of dimes and pennies, a combination of nickels and pennies,
and if all of these are readily mastered, combine some dimes, nickels, and
pennies. (At first keep the total values less than fifty cents. Increase the
amounts as your child gains confidence and is ready for a challenge.)
 Tell time on a non-digital clock (on the hour or half-hour) “as time allows.”
 Measure! Children need many experiences with a wide variety of
measurement tools before they really understand what measurement is all
about. Use rulers, measuring tapes, scales, measuring cups, and measuring
spoons to work on either real or make believe projects. Talk about when
and how we use the different tools!
Take your vacation with computation!
Summer Suggestions for Mathematics:
Entering 3rd grade
 Practice:
o addition and subtraction facts for ten minutes every single day for a
smooth transition into third grade! Students entering third grade should
practice all addition facts with sums up to 20 and the related subtraction
facts. Consider the different parts that can be combined to get a sum of
five or a sum of ten as these facts support strategies for computation
with larger numbers.
o telling time on a non-digital clock
o counting change (mixed sets of pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters.) If
you receive a small amount of change after shopping, let your child find
the value and then check their answer with your receipt!
 Discuss strategies for mental computation when situations arise to find
sums or differences for values less than 100. (Ex: I have a dozen eggs and
8 more eggs. I have one group of ten. I can think of the other 2 eggs and
the 8 eggs as another group of ten. I have 20.)
 Measure! Children need many experiences with a wide variety of
measurement tools before they really understand what measurement is all
about. Use rulers, measuring tapes, scales, measuring cups, and measuring
spoons to work on either real or make believe projects. Talk about when
and how we use the different tools! Compare units such as feet and inches
or ounces and pounds. Compare metric units such as centimeters and
meters or milligrams and grams. Which unit represents a larger quantity?
Which units are used for length? When do we use the other units?
 Explore fractions whenever you find yourselves dividing things up into
equal parts. (Ex. “I am taking 1 of the 8 pieces of pie, so I am eating the
fraction 1/8. What fraction are you eating?”)
Take your vacation with computation!
Summer Suggestions for Mathematics:
Entering 4th Grade
 Practice:
o multiplication facts for ten minutes every single day! Then rotate
between addition, subtraction, and division facts for an additional five
minutes of practice. In just fifteen minutes you will greatly smooth out
the path to fourth grade!
o telling time on a non-digital clock and calculating elapsed time. Ex:
“We left at 2:00 and the trip will take us about an hour and 30 minutes.
What time do you think it will be when we arrive? What time will it be
in an hour and 30 minutes?” Then look at the clock when you get to
your destination. Did the trip really take an hour and 30 minutes? If
not, consider how long the trip did take.)
 Discuss strategies for mental computation when situations arise to find
sums or differences for values less than 1000. (Ex: “We are travelling 230
miles on Saturday and another 112 miles on Sunday. That’s 230 and
another hundred making 330 miles. Ten more brings us to 340 and 2 more
will make 342 miles all together. Then we’ll travel another 342 miles to get
home. How can we figure out 342 and 342 to find the number of miles
we’ll travel on our trip? )
 Measure! Children need many experiences with a wide variety of
measurement tools before they really understand what measurement is all
about. Use rulers, measuring tapes, scales, measuring cups, and measuring
spoons to work on a variety of projects. Talk about when and how we use
the different tools! Compare units such as feet and inches, meters and
centimeters, or ounces and pounds. If you buy milk or juice, review the
relationship between cups and pints, pints and quarts, quarts and half
gallons, or half gallons and full gallons. Students should remember there is
a pattern (involving the number 2) to all these relationships. Look at the
various containers and see if some appear to hold twice as much as others!
 Consider fractions and equivalent fractions whenever you find yourselves
dividing things up into equal parts. (Ex. – “Oh look, half the pizza is the
same as 4 out of 8 slices! 1/2 equals 4/8! What if we cut each 8th into 2
smaller pieces? What fraction would each piece be? What fraction would
now be the same as 1/2 of the pizza?”)
Take your vacation with computation!
Summer Suggestions for Mathematics:
Entering 5th Grade
 Practice:
o multiplication facts for ten minutes every single day! Then rotate
between addition, subtraction, and division facts for an additional five
minutes of practice. In just fifteen minutes you will be preparing for a
wide variety of 5th grade processes (such as computation with fractions
and decimals!)
 Identify shapes and angles in a variety of environments. How many right
angles can be found in your surroundings?
 Measure! Children need many experiences with a wide variety of
measurement tools before they really understand what measurement is all
about. Use rulers, protractors, measuring tapes, scales, measuring cups, and
measuring spoons to work on a variety of projects. Talk about when and
how we use the different tools! Compare units such as feet and inches,
meters and centimeters, or ounces and pounds. If you buy milk or juice,
review the relationship between cups and pints, pints and quarts, quarts and
half gallons, or half gallons and full gallons. Have your child pick up
things from the cart and note the size and weight. Have them look on the
package to see how the company has described the item. Did they provide
capacity information? Weight information? Discuss what tools would be
needed to check that the package measurements are accurate. If you have
these tools available, measure the item to see if you get the same results.
 Consider fractions and equivalent fractions whenever you find yourselves
dividing things up into equal parts. (Ex. – “Oh look, one fourth of the
pizza is the same as 2 slices! 1/4 equals 2/8! How many 8ths are equal to
3/4 of the pizza? We have 6/8 plain and 3/8 pepperoni pizza leftover. How
much is that all together? Is there more than one way to represent the
leftover amount?”)
Take your vacation with computation!
Summer Suggestions for Mathematics:
Entering 6th Grade
 Practice:
o multiplication facts for ten minutes every single day! Then rotate
between addition, subtraction, and division facts for an additional five
minutes of practice. In just fifteen minutes you will be preparing for a
confident entry into 6th grade mathematics!
 Measure! It takes many experiences with a wide variety of measurement
tools before our students really understand what measurement is all about.
Use rulers, protractors, measuring tapes, scales, measuring cups, and
measuring spoons to work on a variety of projects. Talk about when and
how we use the different tools! Find or create reasons to convert units of
measurement. (Ex. “I have this great recipe but we are only using a
‘quarter’ cup for anything that is measured with cups. How many quarter
cups will it take to put in a half a cup of sugar? What about to put in 4 cups
of flour?) (Ex. – “I know how many feet of material I need, but this
material only comes measured by the yard? How many yards are equal to
45 feet?”) Consider the volume of solids when opening cartons containing
stacks of same sized items. Note that the total number of items in the full
carton should be equal to the number of items that fit down the length of
the carton, multiplied by the number of items that fit across the width of the
carton multiplied by the number of layers that can be stacked to reach the
top. See if this is true. If it’s untrue, try to figure out why. Perhaps one
row or one stack wasn’t equal to all the others, etc.
 Consider fractions and equivalent fractions whenever you find yourselves
dividing things up into equal parts. (Ex. – “Oh look, half the pizza is the
same as 4 slices! 1/2 equals 4/8! I will give you 2/8 of the pizza if you can
tell me how many 16ths that would be!) Students leaving 5th grade have
explored fractions in many ways. They’ve added, subtracted, multiplied,
and even divided fractions by splitting up fractional amounts into equal
groups (ex: 4 people will share ¾ lb. of American cheese. What fraction of
a pound will each person get?) Involve your Middle School student
whenever you find yourself working with fractions.