Active Learning: Moves to Count!



Family-friendly activity to get children moving—and learning important math skills

Children are used to active and interactive playing and learning alongside their peers in the classroom. At home, their learning might look a bit different, especially if they don’t have siblings.

But, that certainly doesn’t mean they can’t learn important skills while getting active and having fun. After all, playing is learning!

Share the following activity with families to get their children moving and learning.

Active Math Learning for Families

Physical exercise, play and learning math don’t have to be mutually exclusive! All you need is some paper, a writing utensil and your body. Invite your child to try this fun activity to get up and moving while learning math.

• Gather materials. Grab sheets of paper or cards, and write large numbers on them, one per page. Begin with the numbers 0 through 10.
• Simon says, move! Hold up a number page, and ask your child to do a simple movement that number of times. Example: You hold up the number 5 and ask your child to clap with you that many times.
• Change it up. Continue with other numbers and different movements, such as jumping, taking giant steps, patting the top of the head, raising both arms, and so on.
• Take suggestions. Ask your child to suggest movements for this game.
• Add a challenge. Be sure to include the number 0, and see if your child stays still!