Taking our kids shopping at Christmastime is one of our favorite Christmas traditions. Our kids don’t have to ask what we’re going to do for fun Christmas math activities because they know it happens in the kitchen and while we’re shopping!
I’ve never been a mathematician, so throughout our homeschooling journey, I’ve always looked for ways to make math fun. My children are visual learners like I am, so I’ve always used as many hands-on activities as I possibly could. Especially for our homeschool math class.
Making Christmas Math in the Store Fun
Before heading to the store for our Christmas shopping I take time to have a Christmas math lesson with our kids. This is not only a great time to remind my kids to remember the true meaning of Christmas throughout our shopping trip, but it also gives me the opportunity to talk to them about money!
We all go shopping together at the same time. Then, my husband and I switch kids around throughout the night to ensure that everyone’s gifts are purchased. It’s a fun time of sneaking around, hiding selected gifts while rushing up to the registers. We all make mad dashes to the car in hopes of keeping our gifts a secret until Christmas morning.
Christmas math in the store is a fun way to incorporate learning into your holiday homeschooling season. This is works especially well if you’re on a formal homeshool break! You don’t have to pull out lesson plans or textbooks. Simply take a bit of time to sit down and have a Christmas math lesson before you head to the store and continue it while you’re shopping.
Before you get started with your Christmas shopping math lesson, have your kids make a list of the gifts they’d like to purchase. This is likely to be one of their favorite parts of the trip!
Next, have them determine how much money they have personally saved up. Make sure they note who each gift is for. This information is necessary when you have to help them determine if it is something they need to purchase or not. It will also be helpful when you work on a budget for their Christmas shopping trip.
Visual Learners Love Christmas Math in the Store
My kids are visual learners, so when we have a hands-on money lesson I let them use real money to practice. This adds a bit more fun to their not so favorite subject. It also helps keep them interested in practicing their money skills longer than a worksheet would any day. Your kids may enjoy your Christmas shopping math lesson if you incorporate real money into it as well!
Below you’ll find just a few ideas to help you get started having fun with Christmas math in the store this holiday season!
- Work up a budget based on things like; the number of gifts they need to purchase, the amount of money they have saved up, the amount of money you’re willing to contribute, how much money do they want to donate to charity, etc.
- Using store sales ads and online sales price match the specific gifts they need to purchase
- Discuss sales tax
- Take along a piece of paper and pencil (or calculator) to keep track of the price of unexpected gifts picked up throughout your shopping trip to ensure they stay on track with their budget
- Older students can practice adding their purchases in their head
Making your family Christmas shopping trip a fun learning experience is easy. It is all about teaching your children the importance of math skills before and while you’re shopping together.
How do you find fun ways to teach math in your homeschool during the Christmas season?
If you’re looking for another way to add math learning fun to Christmastime, check out my Christmas Math in the Kitchen post!
For more math practice at Christmastime your kids can keep track of their budget, shopping list and more with our Christmas Prep Activity Pack for Kids!
