Multiplication Games to Play at the Park

Spring has arrived (for many parts of the United States after this miserable winter… finally!), and a favorite activity for families at this time of year is a trip to the park. This offers kids in younger grades a chance to play and enjoy the outdoors without worrying about school or homework. Yet, savvy parents can find a way to introduce multiplication games into their kids’ outdoor fun time.

Understandably, children need play time, and your main focus at the park should be to ensure that they safely get that play time. However, sneaking multiplication games or math activities into their everyday routines can be worthwhile. Kids can still have fun while applying their math skills to their lives outside of school. In fact, some online math tutoring programs have incorporated this idea into their curricula. And as a parent, you can add this fun into a sunny day at the park. Here are five multiplication games to introduce to your children the next time you are at the playground:

Sunscreen calculation

Doctors recommend that children playing in the afternoon sun wear sunscreen and that bottle of lotion offers a chance for some multiplication games as you apply this protection to your kids’ skin. See how many ounces of lotion the bottle holds and how much you ideally want to apply to each person, and then come up with some questions. For example, if you have a 6-ounce container of sunblock, and each kid needs one ounce of lotion applied, how many kids will be protected with three containers? Ask these questions as you are applying—it will distract your antsy kids from the fact they must wait a minute before going to play.

Swing time

Time your child on how often they go back and forth on a swing in a minute. Then ask how many times he will swing in 10 minutes based on your results. Perhaps challenge them to determine about how long it will take to swing 100 times or ask if swinging higher will reduce or increase the number.

Monkey bar multiples