Summer math resources — 7 wonderful ideas & resource lists

It's summer, and kids are out of school. Many of us consider doing some summer math to help them not forget what they've learned, to prepare them for the next school year — or simply to keep them busy. Here are seven wonderful ideas & lists of resources for your child's summer math time.

The first suggestion (we could title this number ZERO) is...

0. DO NOTHING
   Perhaps your child doesn't need to study math during the summer and it's simply time to take a break and enjoy the summer!

1. brain teasers, puzzles and problem solving
   Do these together! They will develop your child's (and your own) logical thinking and problem solving skills, which will help with math.
   

   • 
     Simply google "brain teasers for kids", "brain puzzles for kids", or similar.
   • Problem Solving Decks
     Includes a deck of problem cards for grades 1-8, student sheets, and solutions. All of these problems lend themselves to students telling and writing about their thinking.
   • Number grid puzzles from DadsWorksheets.com
     The site also has math word searches, logic puzzles, missing number puzzles, different kinds of sudoku puzzles, and more (check the side menu).
   • Math Stars Problem Solving Newsletter (grades 1-8)
     These newsletters are a fantastic, printable resource for problems to solve and their solutions.
   • Problem Solving from MathWire.com
     Neat and creative problems to solve for K-8.
   • Step-by-Step Problem Solving, Grade 4
     A problem-solving workbook that provides step-by-step instruction, problem pages at varied levels of difficulty, a math strategies overview, and a complete answer key. The book utilizes bar models just like Math Mammoth and Singapore Math. Other grades available also.
   • Challenge Math For the Elementary and Middle School Math Student
     Over 1,000 math word problems for children in grades 4-8. Answers are included in the back of the book.
   • Mathematics Enrichment
     Open-ended, investigative math challenges for all levels from the UK.
   • Figure This! Math Challenges for Families
     Word problems related to real life. They do not always have all the information but you have to estimate and think. For each problem, there is a hint, other related problems, and interesting trivia.
   • MathCounts School Handbook (PDF)
     This handbook contains 30 creative problems for grades 6-8. All problems are mapped according to topic and difficulty level.

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2. interactive activities, games, and simulations
   Surf into one of the math websites filled with math games, and let your children have a blast with them. Here are some:
   

   

   • MathPlayGround.com
   • Math Mammoth Practice — our own collection of practice activities and games
   • ICT Games
   • Interactive activities from Illuminations
   • Sheppard Software math games
   • Games, workshops, and interactive practice modules at MrNussBaum.com
   • CrickWeb games
   • Math games from Topmarks
   • Hooda Math games
   • Multiplication Games.com — a bunch of games just for multiplication.

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3. online math practice programs
   You could purchase a subscription to an online math program for a few months (typically $10-20 per month). They allow your child to practice unlimited math problems, and give you detailed reports.
   
   

   

   Such services include:
   

   • IXL (K-12)
   • Splash Learn (K-5)
   • Mathletics (K-12)
   • Brilliant.org
   • Mathigon.org
   • Khan Academy (free; K-12)
   
   • DreamBox (K-8)
   • Reflex Math (for math facts only)
   • Buzz Math (6-9)
   • Explorelearning.com

   
   Most of them include a free trial — so one option is to use all of them in succession!

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4. REVIEW the previous year's math
   For review, consider Math Mammoth Review Workbooks or Skills Review Workbooks (both are for grades 1-7). Both provide a comprehensive review of a specific grade level of math, and are available as inexpensive downloads or as printed books.
   
   Caveat: If you used Math Mammoth Light Blue Series for the past school year, then don't purchase the review workbooks, as their content comes from the Light Blue series. Instead, go with the Skills Review Workbooks. (If you have used the BLUE series books, then go ahead with the review workbooks as those two series don't share content.)
   
   Here's another (FREE) way to review the previous year's math. Simply get or borrow (e.g. from a library) a few regular math textbooks for the grade the child just finished. The copyright year won't matter too much; just check that the book contains review or test pages that you can use.
   
   And of course the online math practice programs listed above will work for review purposes also!
   
   If your child is seriously behind, check out this article of mine for a more complete plan and suggestions.
   

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5. 
   math games with cards, dominoes, and dice
   First, I want to recommend this ULTIMATE math card game: The game that is worth 1000 worksheets. You can TRULY use it for topics from simple addition & subtraction, to multiplication, to fractions & negative numbers!
   
   Secondly, download Acing Math — a 69-page book filled with neat math games for grades K-6 that can be played with a standard deck of cards.
   
   

   

   Here are math games to play with dominoes.
   
   Plus you'll find lots more math card game suggestions here.

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6. MATH READERS
   Math readers are story books that have math topics weaved into them. These are especially good for young children. LivingMath.net has long lists of math reader books organized by math topic.

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7. summer math programs & contests
   These are specifically designed to hone children's math skills just over the summer.
   
   Math for Love curriculum is built for 16-day summer program. For grades K-8.
   
   LeapAhead! — a summer math program by Noetic Learning
   
   Another possibility is to take part in Problem of the Week programs or math contensts. They provide some variety and challenge!

   • The Math Contest
     A new problem is posted every Monday at 8am.
   • Problem of the Week from CEMC
     Available in five difficulty levels. The archives contain a lot of problems & solutions you can use!
   • MathCounts Problem of the Week
     A new problem posted every Monday.
   • Problem of the Week from Pierce School
     A fun math challenge open to all students. Large archives available also.
   • Paul Erdös International Math Challenge
     This is open to any child in three different age groups.

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8. Other summer activities
   Check out these wonderful summer activities (not math) for other fun things to do with your kids over the summer!

That's it! I hope you found something useful to spice up your summer with math. :)

By Maria Miller