Best Math Learning Activities for Road Trips
A list of some of the best math learning activities to try with your child while on a summer road trip!
Summer fun has just begun which means it is the perfect time of year for road trips and exploration with your little one! Fortunately, road trips present so many opportunities for your child to practice math while out adventuring on the road. In this article, we will provide you with some of the best math learning activities to partake in while driving long distances.
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Mapping Exercise
This game may sound a little bit old fashioned because most people nowadays use Google Maps on their phone to get from place to place. However, maps present a great opportunity for children to practice their real-world math skills!
Even if you do not actually plan to use it to get to your destination, bring a map on the road trip for your little one to explore. By using the scale, have your child measure the distance it takes to get to and from different cities.
One fun idea that you can try is through utilizing the road signs that show how many miles it is to the next few towns. When one of these signs come up, have your child calculate how many miles have been driven since the start of the road trip. For example, if you are traveling 340 miles from San Jose to Los Angeles. When a sign comes up that says 150 miles to Los Angeles, let your child solve the equation!
Calculate Your Car’s Gas Mileage
This activity is especially great for longer road trips. Before the road trip, write down how many miles are currently on your car. Then, once it is time to pull into the station and fill up. See how many more miles your car has accumulated since the start of the journey.
After that, fill up your car and see how many gallons of gas it takes for it to get full. Finally, have your child calculate the average number of miles your vehicle got for each gallon of gas. You can also try this activity when driving around the city and compare the two averages!
Compare Gas Prices
Similar to the previous exercise, this activity also involves utilizing gas stations. While on the road, there are bound to be an abundance of gas stations nearby the freeway. For every gas station that you drive by, have your child write down the price of each one.
After you encounter about 10 of them, allow your little one to identify the most expensive and least expensive ones. In addition, you can also have them calculate the difference between each one and even find the average price per gallon of them all if they appear to be really enjoying this game.
Calculate the Total Trip Cost
This is the perfect activity to try with your child after you return home from the long excursion. Before the exercise, calculate the individual cost of each item such as hotels, gas, food, and so forth.
After that, present the spreadsheet to your child and have them try to add the prices together in order to get the overall cost of the vacation. This is a great opportunity to teach your little one the important real-life lesson of budgeting and minimizing expenses. If your child appears to be interested in this activity, you can have them try to figure out how to improve the cost efficiency of the trip for the next time around.
Create Math Equations Out of License Plate Numbers
Out of all of the math learning activities to try on a road trip, this last one is relatively simple. While either stuck in traffic or at a stop light, try to create math equations out of the license plate numbers of the cars in front of you.
For example, if someone’s license plate number is “7SUD320” you can formulate an equation such as 7 + 3 – 2 + 0. However, if your child is a little bit more advanced at math, allow them to practice their PEMDAS skills by creating a sequence like 7 + 3 divided by 2 x 0. You can also utilize the letters and have them solve basic algebra equations!
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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!
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