Most kids hate math. I know some of my kids do. But, what are some fun ways to help your kids learn to love math? Kevin Judd, Vice President of Whizz Education has some great tips to help kids learn a love for math in a special holiday way! Elementary kids will have alot of fun with these ideas.
1) Calculate the Revenue Santa Generates for the U.S. Postal Service
Letters to Santa help him know where to go and what to deliver. The United States Postal Service (USPS) estimates that it receives 1 million letters to Santa every year with 500,000 of those letters coming from New York, NY alone. Parents can work with their children to calculate the estimated $440,000 on stamps that children will spend sending their instructions to Santa.
2) Map the Distance from their Houses to the North Pole
Whip out a map and show children where they are in relation to the North Pole. Ask them to guess how many miles Santa will have to travel to reach them. Then, teach them how to measure the distance. How close did they come? You can even take the opportunity to discuss the principles of latitude and longitude.
3) Count the Countries that Santa will Visit
Every year the folks at NORAD track Santa during Christmas night. Parents and children can visit the web site and discuss the 24 times zones that Santa will cross. Pondering Santa’s leap across the globe will probably introduce many children to the concept of time zones for the first time. To increase the challenge, parents can help children calculate the time it will be in other countries when Santa is visiting their houses.
4) Count the Calories Santa will Consume in Cookies and Milk
Parents can research their local population and estimate how many children Santa will likely visit in their area. Let’s say Santa visits 5,000 homes and consumes one chocolate chip cookie at each home. If the cookies are an estimated 100 calories each, how many calories will Santa consume? Don’t forget that a half of cup of skim milk at each house is 40 calories. Good thing that Santa moves beyond the speed of light, another lesson to sneak in.
5) Don’t Forget Fun Math Facts about Santa’s Reindeer
When Santa comes, how many hooves on the roof will children hear? How many watts of power does it probably take to burn Rudolph’s nose that lights the way? (assuming that it’s a standard light bulb) You can also explain to kids that reindeer antlers can range up to 39 inches in width to 53 inches in length. As for food, according to the Alberta Reindeer Association, reindeer require 2.1% of their body weight in dry matter and the average reindeer weight is between 250-300 pounds.
For more great ideas please visit- www.whizz.us
