Math Checkups
Second Grade
“How many years in total has our family lived?”
Ask your child to name everyone’s age in your family – it can be as narrow or broad as you want! Then ask what the sum of everyone’s ages is.
What's the skill?
Adding two-digit numbers takes more skill than adding single digits.
Why is it urgent?
This challenge requires handling both tens and ones (and hundreds, if Granny made lived that long!). Place value skills are a must for moving on to multiply and divide.
If needed, James Tanton’s “Exploding Dots” series presents regrouping in a very engaging and tactile way.
“If we do this every other day…?”
When discussing an activity you might do on alternating days – exercising, eating ice cream, etc. – ask your child today’s date. Then ask, if we do this every other day starting today, will we do it on the 14th? Or the 21st?
What's the skill?
This exercise shows whether your child knows odds and evens.
Why is it urgent?
The ability to count by 2s is a precursor to skipping by other multiples, like counting by 3s. It’s also essential for finding numbers’ factors.
Wondering what to do next? Talk to your kid’s teacher.
