Family Math Night

Measuring With Kids!

Can you remember the last time you used measurement?

•        Baking cookies. 
•     Filling up your gas tank.
•       Measuring the length of fabric.
•      Making your morning coffee.

These are all examples of measurement that we use every day. Because filling up our gas tank is a frequent experience, we forget that our children have not had the same number of exposures. If you asked your child which measurement do you need for a gas tank, would they know?

The same can be asked for making dinner. When you are baking or following recipes, is your child involved in helping? Having your children take part in these tasks will help build their familiarity with measurement tools.

This weekend try taking your child with you when you fill up gas. Show them the pump and point out how many gallons of fuel your tank holds. Try preparing a recipe with your children this weekend. Mix ingredients using cups, ounces, and/or tablespoons. Let them find the measuring cup, allow them to pour or put the object in the measuring cup.

Most of our children are visual learners, meaning they learn by sight. SHOWING them these measurements will further their knowledge and create a connection between school learning and real life. 

At our 5th grade Measurement activity, we had lots of fun!! Students participated in the Mrs. Tremonti/Mr. Bokker event: Measure & Win! In this event, students had to answer questions about conversions and had to pick out the correct visual representation of the capacity! Only IF they got both parts correct could they pour water into their team bucket! Take a look at a few photos below!