The beautiful thing about vacations is that they create an atmosphere where kids can learn and have fun simultaneously. Who says you cannot infuse a little learning into your travel and make it fun? An easy way to ensure this happens is by using interactive math games that every family member can enjoy. For the rest of the family members, these games will be random fun activities, and for the kids, it will be a learning opportunity.
Here are some fun interactive math games the entire family can try out:
Point To/ Find The Shape
For a 4th grader, math concepts like geometry come up often and may take some getting used to at the beginning. So, when teaching geometry, teachers show kids real-life objects modeled after the shapes they see on paper, and you can do the same. For example, if you are going on a road trip, everyone can point at particular objects they see on the road and shout a shape that it resembles.
Alternatively, you can point to a shape on paper and tell everyone to ‘find that shape’ so everyone, including the kids, is looking for what might look like a triangle or a square. You can check brighterly.com for a worksheet with shapes to help you with this game.
Counting The Stars
Nighttime has come, and you are all camped out in an open square; what can you do? You can count the stars. It is a good counting fun math game because it is impossible to count everyone. In 4th grade, kids are learning to get past the number 100, so you can use the unlimited number of stars to teach them these numbers. On the plus side, they will fall asleep quickly enough for you to get onto other businesses until the following day. Counting the stars is also an excellent intimate bonding activity for everyone.
The License Plates Games
When driving on long journeys, you will see a lot of license plates as cars drive past you. Instead of just letting these cars go past, have your kid call out the numbers on the license plates whenever they see them. You can have them add up two or more numbers from the license plates for a more extensive lesson. For example, if a license plate has ‘62RJ244’ for a California license plate, you can have them add 62 to 44 to get a number, depending on how old they are and what their grade is in school.
Count the cars
Instead of just driving, make it seem like you are in a race with other cars while staying within the speed limit. Then you can count the cars you passed and the ones that sped past you until you reached a particular destination. When you get there, ask the kids which number was greater, the cars you passed or the cars which passed you on the way. This game is exhilarating and can almost become a competition, so do well to keep it within a limit.
Conclusion
You have the power to increase your kids’ math knowledge with these travel games. They may seem like simple activities, but they are beneficial. Instead of a typical travel experience, you can make your vacation a learning experience for the kids by engaging in some of the games listed above. There are more games that you can try out, and if this list is exhaustive for you, you can always check the internet for more travel games that can make travel fun for kids.
