You might be surprised at how much math goes into pulling off a Thanksgiving meal! Build early math skills and get some help by involving your child in the preparation process. All you have to do is ask a few intentional questions while you work.
Here are some tips for how you can bring out the math while you cook, set the table, and decorate.
Note: This post is part of a two-part Thanksgiving Special. See the first post about Thanksgiving math games here.
In The Kitchen
Add some spice to the Thanksgiving cooking extravaganza by letting your child help out! Building early math skills is totally worth making a mess in the kitchen. Have them measure out the flour, the sugar, or the water. While they’re in the kitchen with you, take a few minutes to ask them some math questions:
Setting the Table
Setting the table is full of opportunities for math! First, you have to know how many total places to set. Then, you have to give an equal amount of each item to each setting. Counting one item at a time is great for building one-to-one correspondence. Additionally, taking the total amount of items and dividing them equally between each place setting sets the foundation for fractions and part-whole relationships.
While you may not trust your child to set out the holiday plates, they can probably help with the napkins and silverware!
Decorating
Whether you’re making decorations or placing them, creating the perfect Thanksgiving ambiance is rooted in mathematical thinking. Have your child help with the decorations, and ask them a few math questions in the process:
Take Action
- Choose 2-3 moments during the Thanksgiving preparations to intentionally incorporate math talk.
- Check out my previous post Math Talk for Early Learning to learn more about how you can use math talk to build early math skills.