A great opportunity to enjoy time with your child and brush up on their math skills is to celebrate Valentine’s Day with them.
Brief History about Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is celebrated every year on February 14.
There are many different stories that explain how Valentine’s Day came to be. One story is about a priest named St. Valentine who did an amazing and dangerous deed to help others. St. Valentine was a Roman priest who served under Emperor Claudius II. Claudius II outlawed marriage for every man who was serving in his army. St. Valentine was against Claudius II’s decision and decided to marry the soldier’s and their loves secretly. Now, every year, we celebrate Valentine’s Day with our loved one in honor of St. Valentine’s want to spread the love.
Happy Valentine’s Day from Palo Alto – Menlo Park Mathnasium
Math and Valentine’s Day
Here are some fun ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day with your child.
- Bake some sort of fantastic dessert with your child.
This is a great way for your child to practice fractions. Look at the measurements of each dry item and ask them to add it. For example, if a recipe calls for 1 1/4 cup of flour, 2 cups of sugar, 1/4 cup of cocoa powder, and 1/8 teaspoon of salt, ask your child to add up all of the measurements to see how many cups of total dry ingredients they need. You can do the same for the liquidy ingredients.
Along with fractions, baking can help your child with multiplication and determining areas and perimeters of shape. If you are using a rectangular pan, ask your child to calculate the area, perimeter, and volume. You can do the same with a circular pan, just ask them to calculate circumference, area, and volume as well! - Take your child to a nice brunch in order to practice their money skills. Ask them to calculate the total cost of their meal with tax and tip if applicable. If their meal is less than $20, ask them how much change they would get if they paid with a 20 dollar bill. (You can do this with other bills too :))
- Make Valentine’s Day cards for your child’s friends! Buy some chocolates and make cards. In each card put two chocolates. Ask your child how many chocolates they need for the number of friends he/she is giving cards to. For example, if I am giving a Valentine’s Day card to 9 friends. I would need 18 chocolates.
We hope you have an awesome Valentine’s Day filled with some math!
For more information about Mathnasium of Palo Alto-Menlo Park and other unique word problems, visit our website at http://www.mathnasium.com/paloalto-menlopark