Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I love everything about it, from the scary movies to the candy to the trick-or-treaters. While Halloween is supposed to be scary, incorporating math into the Halloween fun doesn’t have to be!
Just take an activity that you’re already doing and ask a few a questions that get your child talking about math. That’s it! Check out the questions and activities below to see how you can find the math in your Halloween celebrations this year.
Decorating
Whether it’s making jack o’lanterns, stacking gourds and pumpkins, or putting up bats and spiderwebs, there are so many opportunities to talk about math while decorating for Halloween. Look for opportunities to talk about shapes and use shape words like “straight” and “curved.”
Candy Sorting and Counting
Digging into the trick-or-treat haul is the perfect time to incorporate some math into the Halloween festivities!
- Practice sorting candies by attributes: fruit vs. chocolate, rectangle vs. square, candy you like vs. candy you dislike.
- If candy corn is your jam, grab a handful and count how many or find multiple ways to make a number. For example, you can make 6 with groups of 4 and 2, 3 and 3, 5 and 1.
- Compare quantities by figuring out which candy you have the most and least of. Do you have to count to find out or can you tell just by looking?
Halloween Food Fun: R.I.P Dirt Cups
Making Halloween treats together is another great way to incorporate some math talk into your celebrations. Check out these cute and easy Halloween Dirt Cups from the Food Network that you can make with your child. As you assemble the cups, have your child count out enough cookies and worms for each cup.
This is also a great opportunity to start conversations about measurement. While your child may not be ready to formally discuss units of measurement, you can talk about how to make sure that each cup has the same amount of pudding or cookie crumbles.
Take Action
Want to learn more about how to incorporate math into everyday activities? Check out this blog post!