In this busy world, we spend a lot of time moving from place to place in our
cars, on buses and trains, and on foot. Use your traveling time as an
opportunity to learn about math. Look around as you travel from place to place,
and help your child find numbers on buildings, buses, taxis, and houses that
they can add and subtract while on the road. Not only will your child be
learning and practicing math skills, but the time you spend traveling will go by
more quickly as well.
Grades K–3
Grades 2–5
Grades K–5
Number Search
This activity provides children
with lots of opportunities to practice number recognition, as well as counting
and writing skills.
You'll need:
Paper, pencil, and ruler
- Create a chart that lists the numbers from 1 to 50.
- Write down each number as family members locate that number on a car, a
sign, a building, or other objects in your community.
- Write down words that have numbers in them, such as "one-stop shopping,"
"two-day service," "buy one, get one free," or "open seven days a week."
License Plate Special
This license plate
activity encourages reading, recognizing numbers, noticing symbols, writing,
counting, and graphing.
You'll need:
License plates, paper, pencil, and ruler
- Copy down a license plate number as you are traveling in your car, walking
around the neighborhood, or sitting on a park bench watching cars go by. Read
the license plate as a number (excluding the letters). For example, if the
license were 663M218, the number would be six hundred and sixty-three thousand,
two hundred and eighteen.
- Find other license plates and read their numbers. Is the number less than,
greater than, or equal to yours?
- Estimate the difference between your number and another license plate. Is it
10, 100, 1,000, or 10,000?
- Record the names of the states of many different license plates as you see
them. From which state do you see the most? Which has the fewest? Prepare a
chart or graph to show your findings.
License Plate
Riddles
This game helps children to develop their knowledge of
numbers and to think algebraically.
You'll need:
License plates, paper, and pencil
While traveling in a car, or on a bus, everyone watches for license plates,
focusing on one in particular for 5 minutes.
- The object is to use the digits on the license plate to make the largest
3-digit number possible. When a player chooses a license plate during the
5-minute watching period, they call out the 3-digit number they have made from
the license plate. The person with the largest number wins the round. Try the
next round so the winner is the person with the smallest 3-digit number.
- Another option is to let each letter on a license plate be worth the value
of its position in the alphabet. For example, A=1, M=13, Z=26. Each person
chooses a license plate and adds the value of the letters. The person with the
lowest or the highest value wins the round.
For younger children, this
activity can be simplified by having them find the largest single digit, or
double digit, or even add all the numbers on the license plate, or just
recognize digits.
Source: Adapted by Leapfrog from Helping Your Child Learn Math (revised
edition, 1999), U.S. Department of Education.
