Grocery Cart Math by Jaye Hansen has been a fun addition to my son’s math schedule. Many of you know that our family typically spends only three days per week in the math textbook. The other two days of math are spent doing “other things” like games, logic, problem solving, math projects and more. (You can read more about how to incorporate the “other things” in my book, Loving Living Math.)
Grocery Cart Math is one of my new tools for “other things” to add to math time. The best part is…we don’t even have to be at home to complete math on these days because the math is completed at the grocery! How many people can say they tackled real math and grocery shopping at the same time? I can – and you can, too!
Written for the 3rd-6th grader, the 32 lessons in Grocery Cart Math are reproducible worksheets that your child takes into the store (along with a clipboard, pencil and sometimes a calculator) to complete. Basic math and real-life skills like nutritional analysis, counting money, comparing prices, figuring sales tax, measurement and more are covered. Sometimes, additional activities will be completed at home, like creating a comparison graph, for instance. Discussion questions for mom or dad continue to bring home the practical side of the lessons with questions like, “Why do stores have sales?”
Real-life math application is of utmost importance and this book does an excellent job tying the two together! As side notes: I always take some time before entering the store to make sure my son understands his task. I also make sure he stays within my sight at all times. Additionally, our trip to the grocery can sometimes be extended a bit from the normal get-in-and-go mode, so I make sure to plan extra shopping time. I also try to leave the 4 year old at home if at all possible! (wink)
-Cindy West is an eclectically Charlotte Mason mom of 3 from Central KY. You can find her blogging at Our Journey Westward and find her NaturExplorers curriculum at Shining Dawn Books.
(Cindy received a review copy of Grocery Cart Math for free upon her request. As always, the review reflects only her honest opinions.)
The biggest reason Cindy chose to homeschool was because she loves experiencing life with her children and watching them grow inside and out. She's sure that’s why the Charlotte Mason method first caught her attention. It allows her to be creative in scheduling, rigorous in learning, yet opens the door for plenty of close-knit time, opportunities for her children to explore their interests and offers enough free time for them to be children. She implements many of Charlotte Mason's methods with an eclectic twist of things that work for her family! At Cindy's website, Our Journey Westward, you will find a blog packed with fun learning ideas and a shop full of creative curriculum, including the NaturExplorers studies.
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