Fractions!
We've been spending a lot of time on fractions recently -- on different levels. The seventh-grader is busy converting decimals to fractions and vice-versa, the second-grader is comparing fractions, while the first-grader is recognizing fractions in a set.
They're doing good, so far. At one point, the Little Man even said, "I love fractions!". Honestly, I think it was this Mr. Scratch here that made him so happy to learn about fractions. Nope, maybe it was the cheese shouting, "quarter!" that made him love the video.
So apart from pizza, how do we really make the lesson relatable to kids? We've been talking about fractions a lot and Little Miss' interest is fading. LOL.
Fractions in the Kitchen
We need not go far. Fractions are everywhere, anyway. So we decided to apply fractions in measurements of food ingredients. Mommy loves to bake, and Little Miss loves to help out. This would be a fun way to use fractions in a way that is interesting since we cook every day.
We took out our measuring cups and spoons, and a few handfuls of wheat grains.
We started filling the small cups and counted how many scoops it would take to fill 1 cup.
1/3 cup + 1/3 cup + 1/3 cup = 1 cup!
Weee! 3 scoops of 1/3 cups really made 1 cup. That's addition of fractions for you, Little Miss!
We also tried the same with the half cup, tablespoon, and teaspoon!
Apart from fractions and addition of fractions, we were also able to obviously discuss measurements with a bit of multiplication and division here and there.
Since the activity involved scooping and pouring the grains from one cup to another, fine motor stills were polished too.
"I think I am ready to cook," Little Miss said after a while.
A real life application of her lesson gave her more confidence to take on new tasks and hopefully, hungry for more learnings. We are not learning fractions just because the curriculum asks for it, but instead, through our simple activity, she realized that there are real-life applications to what we're to doing.
At the end of the day, it is important to let the children realize the importance of their lessons in real life scenarios. They will hopefully be more confident in dealing with their day to day activities, knowing that they are equipped with the knowledge and skills to get by.
I love it when learning is happening based on real situations and experiences. Its a good way of learning, with higher chances that those practical skills they just learned wouldnt be forgotten easily.
As homeschoolers you will agree that we love to focus our learning with real life applications, because we know that we are preparing them not only for tests and quizzes but for life instead.
That is soo true!
How cool, I love fractions, they are everywhere in life.
The best way to teach is to make learning fun, that is the way we really learn, and you mastered the arto making learning fun.
I love this!
Thank you! Kids can easily get bored so I have to find ways on how to present the lessons in ways that they will understand easily.
That is so very true. You do it very well👏👏👏
You just gave me an idea that I could actually start to teach my son some fraction lessons. And since I also got some measuring spoons I will copy what you have done here. Thank you for sharing.
Cool!just taking the lesson by the book could get boring with these little ones. But showing them actual application sparks their interest more.
Pinapanood ko rin kay Aya yan si Mr. Scratch noong nag lesson kami ng fractions. Ang kulit nga. Haha
Haha. Tuwang tuwa sila dun sa Cheese na sumisingit.
I try new recipes by watching tutorial videos. This is really creative concept that you found fraction inside the kitchen 😂
Yeah, I have to be creative to keep the kids' interest. Hehe
I like your measuring scoops. I only ever find plastic ones and I really dislike plastic.
I'm definitely sharing this in this week's curation! I love your thumbnails for your posts, by the way. Such nice attention to detail with presentation in your posts.
I've forgotten where I got these scoops from, but yeah. I prefer these than those plastic scoops that are in the market right now.
Thanks for appreciating my posts... I try to get good photos as much as I can whenever we do some exciting stuff that we can share here. The kids already know, like, "Mommy, aren't you gonna take photos for Hive?" LOL.
Haha! Love that you have them reminding you!