Creative Family Fun

Your one-stop shop for kids activities and family fun

Terri Thompson

10 Fun Ways to Learn Math

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When I was a kid, I rarely enjoyed math. All of those worksheets, memorization, and lists of problems to solve just did not interest me.

There’s just no fun in that!

Luckily, math doesn’t have to be boring. And for children just learning the concepts of counting and math, it can be loads of fun.

Here is my list of 10 fun ways to learn math.

Math doesn't have to be boring especially if you learn with one of these hands-on and fun ways to learn math. Play and learn at the same time.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

10 Fun Ways to Learn Math

Play games.

Get out a deck of cards and start playing. Number recognition, greater than and less than, and addition are all very fun concepts to learn with a deck of cards. Here’s a post by Imagination Soup that lists several games you could play.

Get out your blocks.

Recently my girls and I had great fun practicing our counting and basic addition with our building blocks. You can also learn about subtraction or even basic geometry with your blocks. Start building and you’ll be surprised at what your kids learn.

Math doesn't have to be boring especially if you learn with one of these hands-on and fun ways to learn math. Play and learn at the same time.

Learn about measurement and estimation with non-standard units.

NurtureStore used Legos to measure with, while The Imagination Tree used hand prints. Better Than Homework used heart doilies for a fun Valentine’s Day twist.

Come up with your own non-standard unit. Maybe you’ll use blocks, foot prints, or even whole body lengths to measure. Try to guess how many blocks you’ll need to measure the length of a book. Have fun and let your kids use their problem-solving skills.

Play with pattern blocks.

Make patterns and have your kids replicate them. Create shapes using the pattern blocks. PreKinders has a lot of pattern block mats you can use to help your kids create pictures with the pattern blocks. (I found our pattern blocks at Discount School Supply.)

Hunt for shapes

Learn about shapes by going on a Shape Hunt. Send the kids all over the house looking for examples of different shapes.

Math doesn't have to be boring especially if you learn with one of these hands-on and fun ways to learn math. Play and learn at the same time.

Get out your play dough

Sculpt play dough into numbers or shapes.

Or, you could roll out lengths of play dough and practice cutting and measuring with a ruler, just like this example at Shannon’s Tot School.

Find fun ways to practice counting

For example, practice counting with a counting maze. Hands On: As We Grow shares this wonderful and fun idea!

Practice math with candy.

You can practice counting, estimating, graphing, sorting, adding, subtracting, and more using candy.

Creative Connections with Kids shows you some fun ideas with M&M’s and Quirky Momma shows you all the math fun you can have with a bag of Skittles.

Have some counting fun with nursery rhymes.

Your littlest ones will love counting along with some of their favorite nursery rhymes such as One, Two, Buckle My Shoe and Five Little Monkeys.

Get active.

Play hopscotch or jump rope to practice counting.

You could also mix it up a little bit and play shape hopscotch instead of traditional hopscotch.

Math doesn't have to be boring especially if you learn with one of these hands-on and fun ways to learn math. Play and learn at the same time.

Bonus Activity

There are many, many books full of math activities that you could find at your local library. Two of my favorites are Math Play! by Diane McGowan and Mark Schrooten and MathArts: Exploring Math Through Art for 3 to 6 Year Olds by MaryAnne Kohl.

Do you have any ideas for fun ways to learn math?

Art & Writing Corner

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There are so many wonderful and inspiring play and learning spaces all over the Web.

Some are large taking up entire rooms and while wonderful, that’s just not realistic for my family.

So, when Lizzie started showing a lot of interest in both writing and drawing, I knew I wanted to set up an area that she could go to and have plenty of materials at her disposal.

A lot of my inspiration for this area came from Mariah Bruehl and her blog Playful Learning. Her writing caddy was foremost on my mind while creating this space.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

We had a small, unused cabinet that I moved to a sunny corner of our living room.

The girls’ table is set up next to the cabinets. Then, I gathered baskets, boxes, empty cans, and plenty of art and writing supplies.

The purple basket is full of all kinds of paper. Plain paper, lined paper, old stationary, colored paper, and even a few coloring pages. In addition to the various types of paper, I also made sure there were different sizes as well.

Then, I set out our box of crayons, markers, colored pencils, and recycled muffin tin crayons.

We have an A,B,C stencil book I found at our library’s book sale that I added to the area. I also included a cup with a few more stencils, a pencil sharpener, and glue sticks.

This is an independent area that the girls can use anytime they want.

It’s also in an area of our house that we spend the most time in, which was very important to me.

Now the girls are able to draw, color, or write anytime it strikes their fancy. And, I have piles and piles of drawings to attest to how much they use this area!

A learning space doesn’t have to be large or expensive to set up.

It could be a small corner of a room or it could even be portable in a basket or bin. But, it’s a wonderful way to encourage a budding interest in your child!

Do you have any special learning or play spaces in your home?

Two Last Minute Valentine Crafts

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Happy Valentine’s Day!

We’ve been doing Valentine’s crafts for several weeks now, but I know that’s not the case for everyone.

If you’re still looking for Valentine’s crafts, I’ve got two quick and easy ideas for you.

We made these heart necklaces and napkin rings using simple supplies that you probably have around the house.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

Heart Necklace Supplies:

Construction paper
Markers or crayons
Yarn
Tape

For the necklaces, I cut out two heart shapes from pink construction paper. We decorated with markers to make them pretty then taped them to a length of yarn. We knotted the ends of the yarn together and had necklaces. Easy-peasy!

Napkin Ring Supplies:

Construction paper
Markers or crayons
Cardboard tube
Tape

For this project, I cut an empty TP tube into four pieces and cut four heart shapes from the construction paper.

We decorated the tubes and the hearts, then taped one heart to each tube.

I wrote names on each heart, because tonight, we’ll put pretty napkins through them and use them to decorate our table for Valentines Day.

So there you have it, two very easy Valentine’s projects you can do today!

Are you still crafting for Valentines Day?

Pretend Play Jewelry Store

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We like to play “store” around our house, so in honor of Valentine’s Day, we set up a pretend play jewelry store.

But, before we could set up the store, we had to make our inventory.

We got out our bucket of beads, some string, and some pipe cleaners, and set to work making jewelry. We made necklaces, bracelets, and even a few rings.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

We went in search of anything we could find to make our store “fancy.”

We covered the coffee table with a pretty blanket and used a few pastel-colored bins as display cases.

I found a pretty mirror to display our tiara on and Lizzie decorated with flowers.

We made signs and price tags and made sure everything was set up perfectly.

And last, but not least, I found a few fabric bags and our cash register so the girls could pay for their treasures.

I think setting up the jewelry store was even more fun than playing with it!

Aren’t those rings beautiful? I know you want one for yourself!

Oftentimes, pretend play scenarios can be set up using nothing more than what you already have in your home.

No cash register? Use a box and make paper money

Don’t want a jewelry store? Get out all of your stuffed animals and have a pet store instead.

Or save old pasta and cereal boxes and have a grocery store.

The possibilities are endless!

Do your kids like to play “store”?

Weekends Are For… Grownups?!?

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If you notice, the name of my blog is My Creative Family and almost everything I blog about is for the kids, activities for kids, crafts for kids, games for kids. We do a lot for our kids, don’t we? It’s easy to get lost in that. I know I find myself doing that all the time, thinking only of the kids and forgetting about myself in the process. It’s easy to do. But, hopefully, I’ve found a remedy for that. I’m claiming weekends and you should too!

I’m not proposing you ship the kids off for the weekend or ignore them completely. I’d like to show you ways to do something for yourself, something a bit more “grown-up,” but still involve the kids. Because, after all, we’re part of the same family.

I’ll be steering away from the child-centered posts on Saturdays and give you ideas for you… the grown-ups in the family. Whether you’re a parent, a grandparent or a child-care worker, I hope you’ll find ways to enrich your life and the whole family’s life. I want My Creative Family to include the entire family.

Each weekend idea will have a theme, with ideas surrounding that theme. We’ll declutter and make a donation station. We’ll explore a new hobby. We’ll spend a weekend exercising outdoors. We’ll rejuvenate, renew, and reinvent.

I invite you to join along!