Math:  Homeschooling Field Trip Ideas

This is certainly a unique idea for a field trip.   With this topic, you can select any number of homeschooling field trips to do, which all involve Math.    Take a trip to your local grocery.  Clearly this is aimed at your younger children. But it will help them understand decimals, for example. Math and Groceries:  Calculator in Hand Have your son or daughter bring a calculator along, and add up all  the groceries before you hit the check-out line. That’s one bit of practice (adding). Another work problem you can give is the following: The student should have  a full-sized, 8 x 11 inch sheet of paper; have the student jot down the cost of  ten to twenty grocery items. Once he gets home, he should convert these costs into fractions .  So, for instance, an item which costs $1.15 is  just the same as  “1 and 15/100’s”  .. and the 15/100 is reduceable down to 3/20. Math and The Baseball Park Another option is simply to take a student to a baseball game; have the student pick a  ballplayer. Then, have the child write down how many times at bat, and whether the batter got a hit, a walk, or an out.   He or she should also calculate Batting Average.  Also:  your student can do a follow-on task – i.e., compare the ballplayer’s batting average for today to his overall average for the year-to-date.   Discuss. Math and the Value of Time You also can apply it to real life.  Time, that is; you can make up a little project – then, as the homeschooling field trip, your student can perform certain actions & learn something about the value of his time! Example:  You can give Junior $20.00 to go to the grocery store two times.  One time, he should use  bus transportation, and another time make use of his bicycle.  Discuss and compare the advantages. Clearly, with 1 method you have more money, and less time; and, utilizing the 2nd option of Public Transport, you’ve more time & less money. Which is more valuable – time, or money?

Math and Homeschooling Field Trips: More Ideas If you want to involve your child with fractions and measuring cups, just take a trip to the store. The grocery store – make a plan to bake an apple pie , and have your student make out the list, and be the person who is responsible for handling the purchase.  Then, at home, he or she will be using measuring cups – 1/4 cup, 1/3 cup, etc Also, the baker will be using teaspoons etc. Help your child comprehend the math involved – i.e., how many teaspoons it takes to make a tablespoon (and other Liquid Measures and dry measurements). When the finished pie comes out of the oven, this is when Junior can contemplate the cutting of it. Will he divide it into 6 pieces – or 8? This is a great assignment  for understanding fractions – obviously, one slice is equal to one-eighth (or 1/8 ). You can see there are many ways to come up with inspirational ideas for homeschooling math field trips!   Copyright    HealthyKids