Posted on March 2, 2015 by JumpStart
Spring is officially less than three weeks away, which means it is time to toss out all those old unwanted items. Re-purposing some of your long-forgotten things can be a great way to take your spring cleaning efforts to the next level. Doing so also allows us to help the environment AND earn some extra cash to add t the family budget. In honor of Old Stuff Day, here are a few ways to turn those tattered old items in your garage into useful new household goods!

Photo by Orin Zebest, ©2010. Some rights reserved. Licensed by Creative Commons Public Works License
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Filed under: Behind the Scenes, Crafts, Family Activities, Family Fun, Spring | Tagged: old stuff day, recycling, Spring, Spring Cleaning | Leave a comment »
Posted on February 11, 2015 by JumpStart
Hey Blasters, GC here! We are halfway through Max’s Cosmic Countdown and GC has a very special edible art project she wants to share with all you Blasters. Graphs are a visual way for people to understand numbers, so I thought it might be fun to take a look at our Valentine’s Day treats through a mathematical perspective. For today’s activity, we are going to learn how to make fun Valentine’s themed graphs using some of our favorite holiday candies!
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Filed under: Family Fun, graphing, holidays, Math Activity, valentine's day | Tagged: bar graph, Candy, candy hearts, GC, graphing, Math Blaster, max's cosmic countdown, valentine's activities, Valentine's Day, valentine's math | Leave a comment »
Posted on February 2, 2015 by JumpStart
Valentine’s Day is a holiday that involves expressing feelings from your heart, but that does not mean you cannot integrate some mental math into your activities while you’re at it. With all the cards, candy, and heart-shaped items, you have plenty to work from to make your Valentine’s Day filled with math and science! Here are some ideas you can work on to make your February 14th a day filled with some extra love for arithmetic:

Photo by Johntex, ©2007 Some rights reserved. Licensed by Creative Commons Public Works License
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Filed under: Family Activities, Family Fun, holidays, Math Activity | Tagged: Crafts, family activities, family fun, Holiday, holidays, Math applications, Valentine's Day | Leave a comment »
Posted on January 19, 2015 by JumpStart

Photo by Brynn, ©2008. Some rights reserved. Licensed by Creative Commons Public Works License
Sometimes we just don’t have enough hours in the day to prepare an elaborate dinner. Thankfully, pasta has saved the day on nights like these. Filling and easy to prepare, pasta dishes are great for children with picky appetites because they’re so easy to modify to your child’s tastes. Pasta can also be a great way to make a well-balanced meal incorporating all the important food groups to keep your child healthy, even on a busy night. Continue reading →
Filed under: Baking with kids, Family Fun, Free Online Games, Kitchen Math | Tagged: dinner, fast dinner, healthy, kitchen math, pasta, percentages, vegetables | Leave a comment »
Posted on November 3, 2014 by JumpStart

Photo by Emma Craig, ©2013 Some rights reserved. Licensed by Creative Commons Public Works License.
Make the most of your leaf strewn lawn by incorporating Fall foliage into this fun activity with your kids! It’s simple and uses supplies that you probably already have at home, plus it creates instant seasonal artwork for your home! This is a great opportunity to teach your child about the different types of trees in your neighborhood!
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Filed under: Crafts, DIY, Family Activities, Family Fun, Holiday, Just for Fun | Tagged: Autumn, Crafts, DIY, Do it yourself, fall, Fall Activities, family activities, family fun, Kids crafts, Leaf, leaves, Parents and Kids | Leave a comment »
Posted on October 27, 2014 by JumpStart

Photo by Robot B., ©2014 Some rights reserved. Licensed by Creative Commons Public Works License
Wrap up multiplication and division in a pinch with these cute Mummy Hotdogs that are sure to please even your pickiest eater! Use hot dogs and croissant dough to build your child’s division skills while cooking up an afternoon snack for the family. This activity is especially helpful if your child is a visual learner- seeing one hot dog cut into two halves can help them understand multiplication at a basic level and then apply this skill to larger numbers. Read on to learn how to incorporate multiplication and division into these fun treats!
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Filed under: Baking with kids, Division, Elementary Math, Family Activities, Family Fun, Holiday, Kitchen Math, Math, Math Activity, Multiplication | Tagged: Activities, division, Halloween, Halloween Cooking, Halloween Snack, Kids in the Kitchen, kitchen math, math activity, math practice, multiplication, Mummy | Leave a comment »
Posted on October 20, 2014 by Math Blaster

Photo by poppet with a camera, ©2014 Some rights reserved. Licensed by Creative Commons Public Works License
Halloween is in full effect all around us, so why not pull some spooky inspiration into your child’s math learning? Break up the routine of worksheets by incorporating some spook-tacular Halloween fun into new and exciting activities. Depending on your child’s math skills, try one (or more) of the activities below!
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Filed under: Crafts, DIY, Education, Elementary Math, Family Activities, Family Fun, Game, Holiday, holidays, learning resources, Learning Tips, Math, Math Activity, Math games | Tagged: Addition, Candy, Chocolate, division, Halloween, halloween math, Math, Math Activities, math games, math practice, multiplication, pumpkin, Pumpkins, Subtraction | Leave a comment »