Here are a few things you can do at home, in the car, waiting in line, etc. to help reading and math skills.
Reading: Provide your child with a word. Ask your child to think of a word that rhymes with it. Try to change just the first letter and see what crazy word you make up. Change the vowel...change the ending sound, etc. (Be careful, sometimes you end up with unexpected and inappropriate words!) Giving opportunities to manipulate the sounds in words, and to explore other words that sound the same really helps with phonemic awareness.
Need a greater challenge? Ask for the synonym (word that means the same thing), antonym (means the opposite) or homonym (sounds the same but is spelled differently) of a word!!
Math: Start with a number and ask for one more, one less, ten more, ten less, a hundred more, a hundred less, etc. Increase the challenge by starting with a not-so-nice number like 36 instead of a round decade number like 30.
Need an even greater challenge? Ask for 20 more, 20 less, 30 more, 30 less, etc. Adding multiples of ten will help increase math skills and speed!
Writing: Compose a funny family story. Choose a character and a setting as a family. Then, start with one family member who writes a sentence on a piece of paper. Fold that part of the paper backwards and the next person writes another sentence. Make a few laps around the table and then unfold the story and see what hysterical creation your family has composed!
Reading: Provide your child with a word. Ask your child to think of a word that rhymes with it. Try to change just the first letter and see what crazy word you make up. Change the vowel...change the ending sound, etc. (Be careful, sometimes you end up with unexpected and inappropriate words!) Giving opportunities to manipulate the sounds in words, and to explore other words that sound the same really helps with phonemic awareness.
Need a greater challenge? Ask for the synonym (word that means the same thing), antonym (means the opposite) or homonym (sounds the same but is spelled differently) of a word!!
Math: Start with a number and ask for one more, one less, ten more, ten less, a hundred more, a hundred less, etc. Increase the challenge by starting with a not-so-nice number like 36 instead of a round decade number like 30.
Need an even greater challenge? Ask for 20 more, 20 less, 30 more, 30 less, etc. Adding multiples of ten will help increase math skills and speed!
Writing: Compose a funny family story. Choose a character and a setting as a family. Then, start with one family member who writes a sentence on a piece of paper. Fold that part of the paper backwards and the next person writes another sentence. Make a few laps around the table and then unfold the story and see what hysterical creation your family has composed!
