Homeschool Math Activities in Two Creative Tools to Spark Enriched Interest in Math

Schools are closed for the year in this unprecedented time that we are living in. Summer will be the time to keep children engaged in learning activities. No one knows if schools will actually open in the fall. Many parents homeschool their children now and in thie new world that is inevitable to come, more parents will join the families who homeschool their children. There is a wealth of materials available for children of all ages. These tools featured in my review are creative and engaging math activities for the real world.

Cool Math-50 Fantastic Facts for Kids of All ages from Pavilion Children's Books is filled with activities that will get children involved in using math in the real world. They will discover that math is everywhere and fun! The concept of math being fun might be a new one for your child.

Activities include all math concepts from simple to complex. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, finding formulas, and even trigonometry are all included in the fun activties that one can do at home. The book begins with a history lesson from Great Moments in Math. Fun facts are presented about how math concepts came about. Who knew that in about 30,000 BC that the Palaeolithic people in central Europ and France actually wrote numbers on bones? An expample of a real world use of a complex math activity is the "Happy Birthday Probablility" activity that children can use to determine the chances of having the same birthday as a friend. "Summation of Sums" helps children with figuring out if they have enough money to purchase a product at the store. Can they afford both the ice cream and the potato chips in one purchase?

Simple illustrations and instructions for each activity are included. Cool Math-50 Fantastic Facts for Kids of All Ages was published by Pavilion Children's Books and is recommended for children ages 7-13. Families who homeschool and have children of mixed ages will find this book entertaining and useful for children to work together on math projects. It has an ISBN of 978-1-84365-448-3.

Children are always more engaged with they have something to do with their hands. Build a Castle from Pavilion Children's Books and illustrated by Paul Farrell is a fun activity that involves putting together cards with all kinds of shapes to build the castle. Math skills are enriched by observing all of the colorful shapes that are illustrated on the cards. The box contains a description of architectural features of medieval castles. The descriptions include how designs changed through the centuries to improve the necessities such as fresh water and cooking areas that were som important when the castle might become under siege by an enemy. Vocabulary terms for the parts and features of a castle are described. Every castle had its own flag, turrets, and a battlement. Special arches were also a part of a well-designed castle. The colorful and large cards that are used to build the castle can be fit together in a variety of ways. Children can use their own creativity to fit the cards together with the architectural features that they prefer. This creative activity could spark an interest in architecture while learning math skills. Each colorful card has a variety of shapes in its design.

Children can also work together on this project. Young children will also be engaged with an older sibling to construct a castle. Build a Castle has an ISBN of 978-1-84365-446-9.

Castles are always of interest to children and parents can enrich the activity provided with this creative building experience by adding more materials to learn about castles.