Stop Summer Slide with Outdoor Math Games

It’s official.

Summer break is coming soon and my girls’ school has started sending home info sheets about preventing summer slide. Luckily, their school suggested some fun things like outdoor math games along with workbook recommendations.

What is summer slide? I’m not going to get into stats for you, I’ll leave those to the educational sites. But basically, it’s the tendency for kids to lose some of the things they learned in school over break. As a result, teachers have to spend time time at the beginning of the school year reviewing the year before instead of moving on to new things.

Luckily, it’s not that hard (or painful) to prevent summer slide and give your kids a head start on the next year.

You don’t need workbooks (although they’re certainly available if that’s what you prefer) and you don’t need to sit and do “schoool” over the summer.

I want summer learning to be fun and I want it to be different from what my kids typically experience in school. It can be more hands-on and individualized. I don’t want this to be a chore.

Summer learning can also take place outside, like these outdoor math games. Try one of these ideas to keep your kids’ math skills fresh. They can move and learn or even explore nature while practicing math.

Learn On the Driveway

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Add a twist to a classic game. Math Geek Mama added a fun twist to hopscotch to practice skip counting.

You can also use hopscotch to practice your multiplication facts. Check out Coffee Cups and Crayons for this fun version of Multiplication Hop Scotch.

Draw a hundred chart on your driveway. There are so many fun games to play with it.

Or, draw a giant clock on your driveway. Practice telling time with this fun Sidewalk Chalk Clock Game.

Play with a number line. No Time for Flashcards has some great ideas of ways you can use your giant Outdoor Number Line.

Brush up on your measuring skills. Measure your chalk drawings with this fun idea from JDaniel4’s Mom.

Learn With Nature

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Explore some trees. Math Geek Mama has some great suggestions to incorporate trees into your math practice.

Practicing the math concept of counting on can happen just about anywhere. Here are some suggestions of how to practice on a nature walk.

Turn a wood stump into a geoboard. Mummy Musings and Mayhem shows you how to make this fun tool that you can use again and again.

Use rocks as a manipulative to practice math. Here are some suggestions of ways to use the rocks to practice many different math concepts.

Play Some Fun Outdoor Math Games

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Water play and summer go hand-in-hand, so add math into the mix and you get this fun Water Squirter Math game from Kitchen Counter Chronicles.

Do math at the park! Practice your number stories while you have fun on the playground equipment. What could be better?

You can find even more fun outdoor math ideas here at Mama Smiles.

There’s no need to purchase a workbook when you can have fun playing these outdoor math games!

Find more ways to prevent summer slide here:

Stop Summer Slide While Learning in the Garden

Stop Summer Slide with Fun Reading Challenges

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Terri Thompson

Terri is a writer and mom of two elementary-aged girls. She has a passion for learning and is always looking for ways to make learning fun. You can find her at Better Than Homework where she shares fun learning activities or Creative Family Fun where she shares art, craft, and family fun ideas.

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