Getting to Know You Venn Diagram

Put students together in pairs. Give each pair a blank Venn Diagram form. The students work together to complete the activity.

"One student writes his or her name at the top of one of the circles, and the other student writes his or her name at the top of the other one," explained Fernandez. "In the overlapping portion of the circles, the partners must list five things that they have in common. In the parts of the circles with their names, the students must each list five things that are unique about themselves."

People Patterns

Have students be the patterns. For example, stand/sit/stand/sit.

Pay and Play

Put prices on cans of soup and on empty boxes of cereal, pasta, and crackers. Give your kids some change or Monopoly money, and let them shop. If they're old enough, they can be the cashier and ring you up.

Good Measure

Make an outline of your child's foot on a piece of cardboard. Cut it out, and let her measure things. How many "feet" long is her dresser? Or give her a tape measure and ask her to find two things in the house that are the same length, or to figure out which is longer, the couch or her bed. Extension: why do we need a standard unit of measurement?

Tall Total

How many stories high is your family? Add everyone's height (younger kids can use feet without inches), including grandparents and cousins if you want. Then calculate how tall your "family building" would be (figure ten feet for each floor).

License Plate Math

Have children add all the numbers in a license plate and "win" by finding the plate with the highest sum.

Pattern Block Puzzles

Use pattern block puzzles on file to work with pattern blocks.