I’m bored…

Posted by & filed under Ideas for Parents, Math Activities, Mathematics, Problem Solving, Thinking.

It’s the middle of July and right about now there are thousands of children repeating, “What can I do now? I’m bored.” Here are a few mathematically meaningful and engaging ways to resolve that situation.

  • Wait until it’s a really HOT day. Crack an egg on a part of the sidewalk that’s in the sun. Predict what you think will happen. Check back on the egg every 15 minutes. Draw a picture of what it looks like. Write a paragraph from the egg’s point of view.
  • List 25 cities in the United States, or the world you would like to visit. Find them on a map. Calculate the mileage from your hometown to each of the cities. List the cities in order from least distance away to greatest distance away. If you’re 10 or older, calculate the average distance away from you to the cities. Find the range, median, and mode for the distances. Share this information with a friend.
  • Divide the back of a box or a large sheet of paper into four sections. Label the sections ONES, TENS, HUNDREDS, THOUSANDS. Use old newspapers, magazines, or clip art to find pictures of items that come in sets of ONES, TENS, HUNDREDS, and THOUSANDS. See how many pictures you can find in 30 minutes. Have a sibling or caregiver do a collection, too. Compare your collection with theirs. Write 5 factual statements about the collections and 5 opinions.
  • Collect a menu from any restaurant you visit. Write at least 5 word problems using the menu as a source of information. Begin a “Menu of Math Challenges” and write 5 word problems for every restaurant menu you can collect. Bind the problems and make a book out of them. Write the answers in the back of the book and give to family members and friends to see if they can solve the problems.
  • Look at today’s date on the calendar. Think of at least 10-20 different ways to represent that number. For instance, today is the 21st of July. I could represent the number 21 with 4 nickels and 1 penny. I could also represent the number 21 by having 11 pairs of socks with one sock missing.

This last one is for the adults from comedian Stephen Wright. “When I get real bored, I like to drive downtown and get a great parking spot, then sit in my car and count how many people ask me if I’m leaving.”

So…can you really fry an egg on the sidewalk? Don’t just sit there—go try it and let me know what happens!