Best Math Exercises to Practice Over the Summer
A list of the best math exercises, games, and activities to try with your child over summer break
It is no secret that keeping your child’s math skills in tip top shape over the summer is crucial to their long-term learning success. However, the burning question that parents and even educators frequently ask is which activities are most effective. Whether it be worksheets, games, and so forth, these activities need to contain a healthy dose of both academic importance and fun! In this article, we will provide you with some of the best math exercises to utilize during the summertime.
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Math Puzzles and Problem-Solving Games
Math puzzles and games are the perfect way to balance the two important aspects of entertaining and educational. One of the best puzzles for your child to try is Sudoku! The main objective of Sudoku is to fill in the grid with all of the numbers one through nine.
Although this game may seem difficult for your child at first. It just takes practice to master! If your child likes to complete puzzles at home, then Sudoku is the perfect way for them to have fun filling in puzzles while boosting their math and critical thinking skills in the process. In addition, there are also multiple different difficulty levels of Sudoku puzzles. Start them off with the easiest level and go from there!
Chess is also a solid math game option to have your child try. At first, Chess may not appear to be a game that promotes math. However, Chess presents so many great opportunities to introduce your child to problem solving. Not only does it help them practice counting through calculating how many spaces it takes each piece to make a move.
It is also the perfect way for them to foster a passion for logical thinking. As most people already know, Chess is a game that requires a lot of strategy and planning. The same can be said with solving complex math questions. Because of this, Chess prepares young students to be able to think ahead and understand how to work through mathematical problems.
Interactive Online Math Games
If board games or math puzzles are not something that your child is interested in. Online math games are another excellent avenue to go down! Despite online games being seen by a
percentage of parents as more for playing than learning. If used properly, they can be just as if not more effective than physical math games.
There are a wide assortment of interactive and educational games on the internet that range from counting, to addition, to decimals, to even more advanced math topics such as algebra. Below is a website that contains an endless amount of fun math games that are suitable for children of all ages!
Math Review Workbooks
One of the best math exercises to utilize over the summer are math review workbooks. A great aspect about review workbooks is that your little one can complete them at their own pace. They can also complete chapters in whichever order they want and leave other sections to finish at a later time. As a whole, the flexibility of math workbooks allow your child to see math as more of a hobby than a chore.
If you would like to receive free math workbooks every month, you can do so by signing up for our newsletter here!
Review Important Math Terms
For students who are early in their mathematical journey, understanding the definitions of math terms is just as important as solving the problems themselves. If students can grasp the meaning of a concept on their own, it will be easier for them to succeed on test day.
For this exercise, have your child write down the definition of terms such as perimeter, exponent, and so on. Once they are able to explain the meaning of each term, let them put the definition into their own words so that they can remember it better!
Practice Math Competition Sample Questions
This last item on our list of best math exercises is for students who are a little more advanced at mathematics. Sample questions from math competitions such as Math Kangaroo, AMC 8, Mathcounts, and others can act as fun daily brain teasers for your child. Not only that, but they can also help prepare them for an upcoming contest.
If your little one is interested in participating in a future Math Kangaroo competition. We provide an abundance of free Math Kangaroo sample problems from previous exams on our Think Wiki
page. Not only does our Think Wiki page cover 24 topics from the 2014-2019 level 1 & 2 and 3 & 4 Math Kangaroo competitions. We also provide an answer key and video explanation as well!
About Think Academy
Think Academy provides online teaching services and classes for math students across grades K-Middle School. We also provide tons of free academic resources such as worksheets, webinars, and more! For those who are interested, you can join our WhatsApp group to receive free weekly math resources!
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Think Academy’s Classes
We offer numerous different math courses for children in grades K-8. We have short-term math classes that can help improve your child’s fundamental math skills. These courses last only about a couple weeks.
In addition, we also have K-8 long-term classes to ensure that students master the math material in their respective grades. These semester-long courses are available in three different levels (Advancement, Mastery, ACE) to account for all learning speeds!
As for students who want to take their math skills to the next level. Think Academy provides math competition prep classes for events such as the AMC 8 and Math Kangaroo!
You can register for any of our classes by clicking the link to our courses page here.
1-on-1 Evaluation
Lastly, before you register for our long-term courses. Make sure to schedule a free 1-on-1 evaluation if you have not already! Think Academy’s 1-on-1 evaluation contains an overview of our mission and academic structure, a 15-question evaluation exam, a one hour in-depth analysis, and a 15-minute teacher-to-parent discussion. After the evaluation, a customized study plan will be provided so that all of your child’s learning needs are met!