Math Activities for Kids

5 Fun Ways to Learn With a Daily Weather Report

April 1, 2019 By Terri Thompson

I don’t know about you, but I check the weather app on my phone every single day. Sometimes, I’ll check multiple times.

But, do you ever share this habit with your kids? You should. It’s a great way to learn.

There’s more you can do than just simply checking in the weather. Check out these fun ways to learn with a daily weather report.

This simple STEM activity is fun and requires absolutely no prep time!

Get out your phone for this simple weather report activity. You can learn so much with a daily weather report. Here are a few ideas to try.

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Five Ways to Learn with a Daily Weather Report

Compare temperatures

Use your math skills to discover the difference in temperatures. Find the difference between a day’s high temperature and its low temperature.

For example: Today’s high is 88 degrees and the low is 59 degrees. I use subtraction to find the difference. There will be a 29 degree difference today!

You could compare temperatures over the week. Record the temperature at the same time everyday. For example: What was the temperature at 3:00 pm every day? Find the temperature difference over the week. Find the difference between the week’s highest temperature and the lowest temperature. Or, simply find the difference between Monday’s 3:00 pm temperature and Tuesday’s 3:00 pm difference.

Learn to read a radar

Nowadays, we carry a weather report around in our pocket and can access it anytime. Because of that, I consider it a life skill to be able to click on the radar and know what it is telling you.

Do you know what all the colors mean? Do you know how to make the radar move and understand what it tells you?

Share this information with your kids and teach them how to understand what you’re seeing on the radar.

Note: You will want to pick a rainy or snowy day for this. There’s not much to see on the radar on a clear day!

Learn about predictions

Weather forecasting is all about making predictions. But, these predictions are pulled out of thin air, they’re based on a lot of information like weather patterns, radars, climate, and more.

You can learn more with one of these informative books:

Weather Forecasting by Gail Gibbons

Weather Words and What They Mean by Gail Gibbons

What Will the Weather Be? by Lynda DeWitt

Or, you can try this activity to learn more about weather prediction. Record the weather first thing in the morning. At the end of the day, go back to this prediction. Was the weather forecast correct? What changed?

Next look at the extended forecast and find the prediction for three days from now and five days from now. Was the forecast correct? What changed? Can you come up with some reasons why?

Use the weather report to plan the week

How does the weather report help you plan for the day or for the week? It can tell you whether you need to wear a winter coat or a light jacket. Or whether or not you need to grab an umbrella.

Are you planning a trip to the pool? Sit down with your kids and the extended forecast and have them help you pick the best day to go.

Look at the weather report before picking out your clothes for the next day. How did the weather report help you plan?

Other weather report activities

What else can you learn with a daily weather report?

You can find all sorts of information: rain totals, wind speed, air pressure, pollen count, etc.

You can look up cities around the world and see how it is different from what where you live.

Can you come up with some more ways to learn with a daily weather report?

Get ready to learn with these fun daily weather for kids activities. Learn to read a radar, use the weather forecast, and more.

Learn More With a Book About the Weather

Combine this weather activity with a fun book to learn even more. Here are some great weather books that I’d recommend:

Do want more STEM activities?

Wouldn’t it be so much fun to get STEAM family activities delivered to your inbox? I think so! That’s why I’ve created this fun series, STEAM Family Fun, to be delivered to your inbox. After going through all the letters in STEAM each week with a fun activity devoted to each, you’ll start receiving a fun STEAM activity once a month. (And I’ll also pop up in your inbox occasionally if I’ve got other fun things to share.)

Fill out the form below to start receiving STEAM Family Fun in your inbox.

Playing Card Greater Than Less Than Games

March 6, 2019 By Terri Thompson

Have you ever thought about how many things you can do with a deck of playing cards.

There are tons of different games you can play. But, that’s not all.

They’re also a great tool for practicing different math concepts.

So, grab a pack and let’s explore comparing numbers using these fun greater than less than games.

Grab a set off playing cards to practice math with these fun and simple greater than less than games that will make learning fun.

If you don’t already have a deck of playing cards at home, pick up a deck to have on hand for fun math games.

For the following activities, you’ll want to pull out all the kings, queens, jacks, and jokers leaving all the number cards. Give the deck a shuffle or two to mix it up.

Now, it’s time to have some fun and learn too. Here are some ways you can use the cards to practice greater than and less than.

Greater Than Less Than Games for One Person

Divide the deck of cards in half. Turn over the top card of each pile. Decide which number is greater than the other number. Make a pile of the larger numbered cards. Keep turning over cards until you reach the end of the piles.

Alternatively, you can focus on the card that is less than. Make a pile of the smaller numbered cards instead.

Lay out two cards side by side on a sheet of paper, chalkboard, or small white board. Write the correct greater than or less than symbol between the two cards.

Greater Than Less Than Games for Two or More People

Divide the deck of cards between all the players. Have each player turn over the top card of their pile. The person with the largest number keeps their card and the rest of the players discard their cards. Keep going until the piles are depleted. Whoever has the most cards at the end is the winner.

Alternatively, have the person with the smallest number keep their card.

Have each player take turns flipping over two cards and then say the correct number sentence using greater than and less than. For example in the example above they would say, “five is less than seven.” Keep taking turn until the entire deck has been used.

Can you think of some other fun ways to practice greater than or less than with playing cards?

My Must-Have Math Resources

In addition to a pack of playing cards, there are some other items you can keep at home to help your kids practice math. Here are some options I would recommend.

Do you want to do more activities with your kids?

Join our fun Facebook community, Creative Family Fun for Busy Families, for daily activities that are great for kids and families. We’ll chat, share, and have fun. It’s a safe and private place to share ideas for family and kids activities.

I’d love for you to join me! Just click the link below, request to join, and answer the questions (they’re easy, I promise). Come join the fun! Join the Creative Family Fun for Busy Families community here.

St. Patrick’s Day Hundred Chart Game

March 1, 2019 By Terri Thompson

Did you ever want to travel to the end of the rainbow so that you could find the pot of gold?

It’s fun to imagine, isn’t it?

With this fun St. Patrick’s Day Hundred Chart Game, you can do just that. We’re going to roll some dice and do some addition to reach the pot of gold.

Reach the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow with this fun printable St. Patrick's Day hundred chart game that is perfect for elementary kids.

After you’re done with this fun game, you can continue learning with hundred charts with all these fun Hundred Chart Activities to Make Math Fun.

How to set up your St. Patrick’s Day Hundred Chart game

You’ll need a few supplies for this fun game.

First, you’ll need to print a copy of your Pot of Gold Hundred Chart. You can find it at the link below.

Click here to get your Pot of Gold Hundred Chart.

If you plan on using this often (or in the classroom setting), laminate your hundred chart for durability.

Finally, you’ll need 1 or 2 dice and some game pieces. We just used coins, but you can use anything. Gold coins or St. Patrick’s Day mini erasers would also be fun.

How to play

You can play either a one person game or a two person game. The directions are below.

One person game

Start with your game piece on the number 1 square.

Roll the dice and move the number or spaces indicated. Encourage your child to use their addition skills to add the two dice together and also add that number to the square they are on to find out which square they should move to.

Keep playing until you reach 100. You’ve found the pot of gold!

Two person game

The two person game is very similar to the one person game. Except you’ll be racing each other to see who gets to the pot of gold first.

For this version, use two different game pieces. We were using coins, so we used a penny and a nickle.

Play the game the same as the one person version except have the two players take turns throwing the dice and moving.

The first person to reach the the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow in square 100 wins.

Are you ready to play this fun St. Patrick’s Day hundred chart game?

Use one of these fun game pieces

If you don’t want to use coins for your game pieces, here are some fun St. Patrick’s Day choices to use:

Do you want to do more fun family activities?

Green Eggs and Ham Addition Match Game

February 28, 2019 By Terri Thompson

We’ve got a few books at our house that have the tatters that only a well-loved book can get.

Green Eggs and Ham is one of those books.

We always have great fun reading it and even more fun doing activities inspired by the book, like this Green Eggs and Ham addition match activity to work on math facts.

Practice your adding to ten addition facts with this fun Green Eggs and Ham Addition Match game perfect for elementary kids.

This game was very easy and didn’t take too much time to make. Involve the kids and have them help put it together. Working together makes it go quicker!

Supplies Needed:

2 sheets green construction paper
Black marker
Scissors

How to make this Green Eggs and Ham Addition Match Game

Take each piece of paper and fold it in half. Fold in half again so that you have a simple accordion fold with four sections. This will help with the size for your ham and eggs.

You’ll want 11 ham shapes on one piece of paper and 11 egg shapes on the other piece of paper. So, you’ll have 3 shapes on each folded section of paper.

Draw simple ham and egg shapes inspired by the book.

To make this easier, I drew one ham shape, and cut it out. Then, I traced it ten more times. I did the same for the egg shape.

As you can see in the picture above, I made super-simple shapes. There’s no need to make it complicated.

Trace each shape with your black marker and then cut out all the shapes. Recruit the kids for this step. They’ll love to help!

Once you have all the shapes cut out. Write the number 0 – 10 on the egg shapes and again on the ham shapes.

The game is ready to play. It’s time to have fun making 10.

How to play the Green Eggs and Ham Addition Match game

Spread out the egg and ham pieces. Match one egg and one ham so that when you add the two numbers together, you’ll get 10.

Two-player version: Turn all the pieces face down and play like a memory game. But, instead of matching the two numbers, you’ll want to turn over two number that equal 10.

Pair this activity with a book

This fun math game is perfect to pair with a good book. Grab a copy of Green Eggs and Ham and one of these other fun Dr. Seuss books.

Do more activities with your family!

Cat in the Hat Skip Counting Puzzle

February 20, 2019 By Terri Thompson

Do you love Dr. Seuss books?

We do! That’s why we’re going to use our favorites for some fun Dr. Seuss math games.

This fun Cat in the Hat Skip Counting Puzzle is a great way to practice counting.

Practice skip counting by tens with this fun Cat in the Hat Skip Counting Puzzle inspired by one of our favorite Dr. Seuss books.

We made this puzzle to practice skip counting by tens, but you can do anything that your child needs to work on.

Try skip counting by fives or two. Or maybe your child is still counting by ones. This versatile puzzle can work for any counting.

Supplies Needed:

1 piece each of red, blue, and white construction paper
Black permanent marker
Scissors
Laminator (optional)

How to make your Cat in the Hat Skip Counting Puzzle

Start by sketching a tall – and slightly crooked – hat on your white piece of paper. Take your inspiration from the pages of The Cat in the Hat. It doesn’t have to be a perfect replica!

Cut out your hat and trace it on both the red and the blue pieces of paper. Cut out the red hat.

Your blue piece of paper is your puzzle board, so don’t cut out that hat. Instead, trace your pencil lines with the black marker.

Add your stripes to your white and red hats. You will need 10 stripes on each hat. Use a ruler and compare the hats to make the stripes as similar as possible so you can alternate the colors. Cut apart each of your stripes.

Next, use your blue puzzle board to alternate the stripes on the hat. Starting at the top strip, write your numbers (skip counting by 10) in order from 10 through 100.

If you are worried about durability, run your puzzle board and puzzle pieces through a laminator.

Note: If you are making this game for a classroom, you will have enough stripes for 2 puzzles. You’ll just need a 2nd sheet of blue paper to make another puzzle board.

Practice skip counting by tens with this fun DIY math puzzle inspired by The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss. It is such a fun math game.

How to play:

Playing the game is super-easy. Just mix up the strips and have your child complete their puzzle by putting the stripes in order. That’s it!

This Cat in the Hat Skip Counting Puzzle is a fun and simple way to practice counting by tens – or any other set of skip counting!

Cat in the Hat books

This Cat in the Hat math game is a perfect time to combine an activity with a book. So, grab a copy of The Cat in the Hat or another book featuring this fun character!

Math Activities for Kids

Five Ways to Learn with a Daily Weather Report

Compare temperatures

Learn to read a radar

Learn about predictions

Use the weather report to plan the week

Other weather report activities

You may also like one of these fun STEM activities:

Learn More With a Book About the Weather

Do want more STEM activities?

Greater Than Less Than Games for One Person

Greater Than Less Than Games for Two or More People

You may also like one of these math activities:

My Must-Have Math Resources

Do you want to do more activities with your kids?

How to set up your St. Patrick’s Day Hundred Chart game

How to play

One person game

Two person game

You may also like one of these fun St. Patrick’s Day activities

Use one of these fun game pieces

Do you want to do more fun family activities?

Supplies Needed:

How to make this Green Eggs and Ham Addition Match Game

How to play the Green Eggs and Ham Addition Match game

You may also like one of these Dr. Seuss math games:

Pair this activity with a book

Do more activities with your family!

Supplies Needed:

How to make your Cat in the Hat Skip Counting Puzzle

How to play:

You may also like one of these Dr. Seuss math activities:

Cat in the Hat books

Do you want to do more activities with your family?

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