When it comes to finding fun ways to use traveling to teach math, you don’t have to travel far. (Sorry, couldn’t help myself! 😉 ) Like most homeschool moms, I naturally gravitated towards the textbooks and classroom-style learning methods the first year or two. We do what we know! However, it didn’t take long for me to break outside the mold and learn to think outside the curriculum box. I began to realize that any subject could be taught anywhere.

Fun Ways to Use Traveling to Teach Math

From calculating the distance traveled between locations to counting the number of stoplights passed through on a long road, there are lots of creative ways to teach math while traveling. Here are a few to implement in your homeschool today, whether you’re traveling or not!

Play math-based travel games.

These are super easy to come up with and don’t take many resources at all.

I Spy Meets Scavenger Hunt

Journaling can be such a powerful method of learning, as writing can help children slow down to process information. So, with having a math journal in mind, you can have your kids copy down a variety of “math problems” that they’ll have to answer while they’re out. It’s sort of like a mix between a scavenger hunt and I Spy.

A few ideas to start with are:

- Count the number of stop signs and pedestrian walking signs, then add them together.

- Find the sum of street signs between two locations.

- Calculate the distance between your home and the grocery store (or any other place you go).

Geometry Walk

As you and your family are out and about, have your children pay attention to the buildings around them. They’ll quickly notice that they comprise of lots of geometrical shapes. From triangles and squares to rectangles and circles, they will see things made with all shapes and sizes.

If they find buildings they like, have them take a picture or draw them in their journal.

License Plate Math

Your kids will have a blast writing down different license plate numbers and using them to add, subtract, multiply, or even divide. For license plates with letters, challenge them to come up with an alpha-numeric code for doing math problems.

Calculate a Trip

There are many mathematical aspects when planning for a trip or vacation. Turn your next trip’s plans into math-learning fun with your kids by doing the following.

Calculate distance.

Have your kids use a map and calculate the distance between your starting point and ending points. Bonus points if they can do it without needing help from Google maps (or another app equivalent). They can also calculate distances between places you’ll be going once you get to your destination.

How much money will you need?

I personally like to budget for every aspect of our travels from gas and groceries to money needed for attractions and miscellaneous purchases. Give your kids a starting budget point and have them list out what expenses they think they’ll need throughout the duration of the trip. This will help them learn critical finance skills that will come in handy later in life.

Plan a schedule of events.

If you want to teach your children about time management and scheduling, then let them be part of planning the activities for the day down to the time. They’ll have to pay attention to the clock and know when to start getting ready, decide on a good time to leave to make sure you arrive on time, and how much time will be spent at each place.

Time management skills are valuable for life, but this practice also brings math into everyday life in a very practical way.

Math Printables to Use While Traveling

I have a variety of math printable resources that you can use along your travels. Check them out below!

Beautiful Budget Coloring Planner

Want more help training them to be budget conscious? Check out my Beautiful Budget Coloring Planner! It’s a great option for more creative types (and that includes you, too, mom! 😉 )

License Plate Game printable

Here’s a fun License Plate Game printable that you can use while traveling to teach math!

Number Balloon Coloring Book

Help introduce your young students to the numbers with these fun number balloon drawings to color! Coloring helps children learn fine motor skills and exposure to numbers is a first gentle step to learning to tell them apart.

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What are some fun ways you teach math (whether you travel or not)?

The ideas and suggestions mentioned above are just a few ways to use traveling to teach math in your lifeschooling adventures. But, I’d love to hear from you! What are some fun ways you teach math in your homeschool? Let me know in the comments below!

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Danielle Papageorgiou has been homeschooling, or “lifeschooling,” for 21 years (she counts birth as day 1!) and has blogged, spoken, and run her own conference for many of those years. She has a passion for helping other homeschoolers learn how to homeschool in a way that does not compete with family life, but actually enhances it…homeschooling done in a spirit of freedom, not legalism.