Reinforcing Fractions at Home

Fractions are a difficult concept for most children to grasp. I was able to teach my children fractions by reinforcing those skills in the home. There are many home tasks requiring fractions. Hands-on learning reinforces the math principles children learn in school. Involve them in tasks requiring fractions and they will master this math concept in no time.

Reinforcing fractions by home baking

Following a recipe is a wonderful way of reinforcing math skills in the home. A recipe is filled with fractions, ¼ teaspoon of this, ½ cup of that and you have yourself a cake. Have kids pour four ¼ cups into a measuring cup and see that it makes a whole cup. When the cake is done cut it into squares. If there are 16 pieces of cake, one piece is 1/16 of the cake. Fractions are a piece of cake, literally

Reinforcing fractions by home sewing

Home sewing involves a lot of measuring and adding. Just look at the back of any pattern to see how much. If you are making a dress and you need 3 ½ yards of fabric for the dress and ¼ yard for the collar, how much do you need altogether? This is a great way of reinforcing common denominators and adding fractions. Plus, you may get a seamstress out of the deal.

Reinforcing fractions by home building

OK, enough girl stuff, let's talk engineering. What other home task involves more fractions than building? Whether it's a bed, a table or an entire home, one building project utilizes a lot of fractions.
Measurements for home building must be exact right down to the last sixteenth of an inch. Add your fractions wrong and you must start over. Practice makes perfect.

Reinforcing fractions through home auto mechanics

Hand me that ¾ inch nut, son, This ½ inch is too small. OK, now the ¾ inch wrench, see how nice that fits? Just a quarter turn at a time, you don't want it too tight, it needs a little give. That should do it, now let's take it for a spin. Looks like we've got about a half tank of gas, better fill it up. The tank holds 18 gallons, half of that is 9 gallons, so at 2.50 a gallon, we'll need about 22.50.

Reinforcing fractions by sharing in the home

No, Jenny, you already had the bike for a half hour, now it's your sister's turn. There are four of you so each person gets ¼ of that. Jason, will you bring you Dad and his friends half of those cookies? They're working pretty hard out there. Sharing is a great way of reinforcing dividing fractions by portioning things out equally at home.

Reinforcing fractions by a home growth chart

Use a tape measure to copy a 6 foot ruler onto the wall. Once every few months, mark kids heights for comparison. Kids will learn the fractions on the chart by viewing and comparing their heights over and over. Using kids natural competitiveness in reinforcing fractions makes it seem less like learning to them.

Source:

Personal Experience