Today, we’re rewarding everyone for their patience with the debut our new football geometry game!  Here, kids can run drills by tackling fun geometry questions, while trying to make it to the end zone!

Can your kids spot the pyramid?

Once your Jumpee makes it to the end zone, sit back and enjoy your little MVP’s touchdown celebration!

Touchdown!!!

So football fans, tell us what you think!  Do you have what it takes to be a JumpStart football champion?

Run the track and explore our improved stadium!

Now you can play your favorite sports like basketball, football and volleyball in our improved stadium! Score touchdowns, shoot some hoops under the stars, and practice your serve on the beach!

Practice your serve!

Test your basketball skills on the court and show off your aim as you knock over targets.

Try your hand at Jumpee basketball!

With our new football geometry game kids can run drills by tackling fun geometry questions, while trying to make it to the end zone! Once your Jumpee makes it to the end zone, sit back and enjoy your little MVP’s touchdown celebration!

Touchdown!

Also earn extra balls in our brand new learning games. Tackle tough equations on the football field, score a slam dunk on math problems and bump, set and spell on the volleyball court!

Earn balls for spelling!

Go visit our new expanded Sports Arena in Downtown and be sure to come back and let us know what you think about it! Do you have what it takes to be a JumpStart sports champion?

Missed Part 1? [Read it Here].

Money and math, money and math, go together like a horse and carriage… uh… tea and a hot bath… uh… let’s move on, shall we?

Random non-rhyming tunes aside, money and math are, indeed, a great pair. You can be a great parent and teach your kids the basics of arithmetic, algebra, and percentages using real-world scenarios… while secretly preparing them to slave away at your taxes every year as you sit back and sip lemonade (mwahahahahaha).

Arithmetic:
You can sneak in little lessons about arithmetic whenever you have some spare change. While you’re waiting for your meal at a restaurant, you can pull out a couple of pennies and ask: “If I have three pennies and add two, how many pennies do I have?” or some variation thereof. Once they’ve mastered addition, you can move on to subtraction, multiplication, and division (“If we have three nickels, and we divide them among three people—you, me, and Daddy—how many nickels does each of us get?”). Your kids will learn math while getting even more familiar with the different coins. Not to mention, they’ll love the challenge… especially if they get to keep the change!

Algebra:
Ever thought about coins? How five pennies equal one nickel, two nickels equal one dime, etc? That’s algebra! 5p = n, 2n = d. Once your kids have mastered arithmetic, you can start teaching them the basics of algebra, even as they learn how the different coins relate to each other. For instance, now while you’re waiting for your meal, you can ask your kids: “If five pennies equal one nickel (5p = 1n), and two nickels equal one dime (2n = 1d), then how many pennies in a dime?” If you write out the equations with letters instead of the full word, they’ll get more familiar with the format of algebra, and you can act out the equation with the actual change!

Another great way to get your kids learning math is at a vending machine. If an item is, say, 85 cents, you can pull out a handful of change and have your kids figure out which coins to add up to 85. (ex. three quarters + one dime = 85 cents)

“That sounds cool,” you say, “but my kids are way too young for algebra!” That may be true, and you certainly don’t want to frustrate your kids with anything too far beyond their level, but every kid is different. Give it a try. Your kids may surprise you!

Percentages:
Your kids are really financial hot-shots now! Once they start learning percentages, you can have your kids tell you what percent of a dollar is a nickel, or what percent of a nickel is a penny. If they start saying that’s too easy… well then, have them calculate the tip!

So, go put your nefarious plans into action, and begin grooming your little financial planner! There are lots of fun places to teach your kids about money and math: vending machines, restaurants, grocery stores. If you get creative, you can turn almost any outing or errand into a fun money/math challenge!

We all know how important it is for our kids to learn about money, but when is the right time to start? The answer is now! Kids are never too young to learn the value and uses of money, and if you start them early, they’ll have an easier time managing their own finances as they grow up. “But money is so complicated!” you protest. “How can I possibly teach my 3-year-old?”

Never fear! It’s true, a 2- or 3-year-old probably can’t handle taxes or cash flow… yet… but there are many lessons they can start learning very young:

The value of a dollar… and all the other kinds of money. Your kids can learn how many pennies there are in a nickel, a dime, a quarter, and a dollar. They should also know that there isn’t such a thing as a $3 bill or a $40 bill. You can play some fun memory games with them, like “Which one doesn’t belong, a $20 bill, a $5 bill, or a $3 bill?”

Using an ATM. ATMs are a great learning tool. While we strongly recommend against giving your kids your PIN, they can handle just about everything else. Whether you’re making a deposit, a withdrawal, or just checking your balance, your kids can practice their reading skills and their number recognition, even as they become familiar with the ATM. Best of all, they get to push buttons (what kid doesn’t love pushing buttons?) that make a fun beeping sound.

If you’re not in a hurry and there aren’t people waiting to use the machine, you can take more time to teach your kids what the words mean: “Deposit means to put in, withdraw means to take out.” After a few trips, you can wow the other moms on the playground when you ask your kids what they did that morning and they respond: “I deposited a check at the ATM.”

Filling out checks. Checks are another great learning tool. They’re particularly fun because they teach many different things. Even before your kids can write, they can watch you fill out the checks. You can get them involved by asking questions like “What is today’s date?” and “OK, so how do we write out that date?” or “What letter is that?” and “How do you spell ‘five’?”

Once your kids have learned basic writing skills, you can have them fill out everything but your signature. Not only will they become familiar with checks, but they’ll also practice dates, writing, and spelling, and they’ll get to look at the value of the check both in number form and written out.

With these lessons, you’ll be well on your way to having your kids do your taxes!

As the month of May comes to a close, your little ones have probably already begun their countdown to the much anticipated summer vacation. As much as your studious pupils deserve some fun and relaxation, it’s important that their brains don’t take a break all summer long. Research shows kids in grades kindergarten through sixth lose between one and three months of learning, or about 45% of what they learned during the school year, throughout those long summer days. This summer slip in learning happens when kids don’t get a chance to engage in educational activities during their vacation. Prevent a brain drain this summer and keep your kids’ minds in gear all summer long with these fun and simple brain boosting activities for kids of all ages!

Math

Since kids lose more math skills than anything else over the summer, try to incorporate some math-related activities into the daily routine.

• Help your kids mathematically monitor and keep track of a summer sport. Research your favorite team’s statistics, averages, and rank and keep a chart monitoring the team’s progress.
• Cook a meal together, letting your child follow the recipe and use measuring spoons and cups.
• Hang a thermometer outside to track the temperature throughout the summer.
• Make paper airplanes or egg parachutes and measure their flight paths and distances.
• Let your kids help you shop. Tell them how much money you’re aiming to spend and let their estimating go to work as you throw items into the shopping cart. Be sure to get their estimated total before you get to the register.

Writing

Help your child’s vacationing brain build creativity, writing skills, and vocabulary with these activities:

• Fill in summer’s special days and events on a homemade calendar. Use pencils, drawing paper, and rulers to create, decorate, and fill in a personalized summer calendar for your family.
• Make the summer a time to relive for an eternity by creating a scrapbook of summer events and memories. Your kids can fill pages by writing details of their experiences, adding photos and captions, and placing any items they collected during the summer months inside. Add their artistic and creative skills to this project, and you’ve got a brain building memory to last a lifetime.
• Writing made-up or real-life accounts of summer adventures is always a fun way to get the imagination and the mind going. Work together to create a ‘choose your own adventure’ book where the ending is always unknown.

Social Studies

It’s easy to learn about history, geography, and culture without even realizing it during the summer months. Here are few ideas to make studying social studies simple.

• Help your kids set up interviews with older community members or relatives. Delve into lives of the past and learn firsthand about history and how things used to be.
• Help your child make a map of the places and landmarks she’s visited. Color the places visited in one color and shade in the places that she’d like to visit someday in another color.
• Visit a historical monument, a national park, or a history museum.
• Your kids will feel great ownership and quite proud when they help you map out and plan a family vacation or day trip. Let them help you research activities by poring through brochures and websites. Make it a math lesson as well when you give them a shot at budgeting the family entertainment, dining, and lodging.
• Take your kids to an international market or an ethnic restaurant. Try new foods and research the country or region the foods came from.
• Be a tourist in a new city- explore, navigate, and learn together.

Stay tuned for more ‘Brain Drain’ prevention techniques next week, when we’ll look at building the summer brain through reading and science!

Here are some ways to combine learning with everyday activities:

• Supermarket Sleuth: Turn your local supermarket into a super world of mathematics. The grocery store is the perfect place for number crunching and problem solving. Ask your kids to estimate the total amount of your shopping bill as you shop. See who can get the closest to the actual total. The produce section is a great spot for some per pound approximating. When buying an item that is priced by the pound (like bananas), ask your kids to guesstimate how much the whole bunch will cost. Or, put their skills to the test by offering the challenge of figuring out if one brand of paper towels is a better deal than another. Buying a case of soda? Figure out together how much each can in the case costs.
• Cookin’ Up Learning: To practice math and reading at the same time, designate your child head chef for a day and place him in charge of planning an entire meal for the family. He’ll have to start by pouring through cookbooks to find recipes for his meal. After careful reading, he’ll have to inventory the kitchen for ingredients and make a list of the additional things he’ll need. Will the recipe make enough for your family or will he have to adjust it to make more or less? You can work together in the kitchen to ensure all ingredients are measured properly and all the steps are followed. Younger kids can also help with minor tasks in the kitchen. Or, they can make and decorate menus and placecards for the meal.
• Travel Teacher: With summer vacation around the corner, give your kids the opportunity to try their hand at being a travel agent. Allowing your kids to help plan a family trip can be a great way to enhance math, reading, and even map skills. Give your kids books, pamphlets, and brochures to research potential destinations. When a location is decided, your kids can put together a budget for the travel expenses. How many miles away is the location? How much would gas cost? Will lodging be necessary? With a bit of your help, your kids can plan a fun family getaway within your budget. Plus, they’ll be extra excited about the vacation because of the large part they played in the planning process.
• Pet Puzzlers: Have a pet dog, cat, or bunny? Let your kids take the lead in caring for the fuzziest member of the family. Make sure to discuss important measurements – how much food does your critter eat each night? Each week? How much does your furball weigh? Is this weight healthy? For some extra fun, help your kids to research your particular type of pet on the internet – you can learn all sorts of fun facts about your friend. By caring for your pet, not only will your child learn important lessons in responsibility, but he’ll develop a sense of pride in his role as caretaker.
• Calendar Captain: If you’re like most parents, your schedule is probably jam-packed with events and errands. Recruit your child to help plan a special outing like a trip to the movies or the beach – but with a catch! She’ll have to find a place on the family calendar when everyone is available for enough time to go on the field trip. Make sure to allot time for travel and parking, then pencil in the excursion!

Last month, we brought you a collection of easy ways to practice the ABCs with your child in your everyday life. Now, we’re back with another collection of little learnings to help you bring learning numbers and math concepts beyond the classroom!

• Family Photos Sleuth: Leaf through a family photo album with your child. Point out a photo of 1 or 2 children. Can your child find a photo with more than that many children? Repeat the activity, but look for different numbers of adults, trees, cars, or other items in the photos.
• Nature Numbers: Enjoy a walk with your child. Take separate plastic bags and collect items from nature. Back home, compare sets of objects. For example, help arrange your child’s items in a row. Then arrange your items directly beneath to show a one-to-one correspondence. Are there more? Less? The same?
• Rank the Winners: Help your child use books to build a ramp for toy cars. Then launch ten toy cars, one at a time, so that they roll down the ramp and across the floor. Which car came in first (went the greatest distance)? Second? Third? And so on.
• Step on It: When you are out and about with your child, count the number of steps you take. How many steps to the top of the stairs? How many steps to the corner? Try guessing the number and then counting to see if the guess is correct.
• Personal Shopper: Provide a catalog and ask your child to be your personal shopper. Make a request that names two different attributes, for example, “I’d like to order something pink and soft.” Your child can leaf through the catalog and find an item such as a pink sweater or a fluffy pink blanket. Continue with another shopping request that involves two different attributes.
• Flatware Patterns: Lay out flatware to start a pattern: spoon/fork, spoon/fork. Can your child continue the pattern? Reverse roles. Try different patterns such as knife/fork or knife/fork/spoon.

What is the best way to teach a 7 yr old how to handle reading problems using subtraction and addition?

Answer:

When solving a story problem, have your child look for clue words.

Some clue words for addition are:

• Add
• Sum
• Total
• In all
• All together

Some clue words for subtraction are:

• Subtract
• Difference
• Less than
• Have left
• How much more
• Take away

These words tell you the kind of math sentence to write to solve the problem. You might have your child underline clue words and cross out unimportant information.

For example:

Joe has 4 apples. Peter has ten apples. How many apples do they have in all?

4 + 10 = 14

Try solving some problems together! Hope this helps!