One subject that can easily be taught is math. When our daughter was just learning to add multiple numbers and numbers past 100, we introduced her to the idea of rounding numbers. We practiced with different dollar amounts and rounding them up or down to the nearest dollar. So, the $1.59 of apples rounded to $2.00 and so on.

With this understanding of rounding, we set off for the grocery store. With a pencil, pad of paper and small clip board in hand, our daughter set out to determine our approximate bill for the groceries. Now, I will admit I could have done all the grocery shopping in about one hour, including paying and getting the groceries bagged, but what a real world opportunity would our daughter have missed.

So, instead of one hour total, it took almost two hours our first time around. As the cashier rang up our order, our daughter paid close attention to the amounts and the final total. She was very excited once we reviewed the receipt and found that she was within a couple dollars of the final total. I was excited because she found a real world reason for learning math and I stayed within my budget.

Since that first time, she has rounded many more of our orders. She has become so efficient at this that we can get through our entire grocery shopping experience within a little over an hour.

As she tackled several digit numbers she became more precise in the adding. She now adds multiple digit numbers, without rounding, and aims for an accurate subtotal, without the use of a calculator. She does a great job and is very helpful with keeping us on track for our grocery budget.

As she progresses with her math, she will be able to utilize multiplication and division. So, the next time you want to teach math, don’t have your child do a worksheet take some time and teach them using the real world. In the end, not only are they getting some time with you and practicing their math skills but they are also learning a life skill and that is staying within a budget!