Sometimes all your child needs to stimulate those brain cells is something amazing or interesting to spark their curiosity. Here are some miscellaneous facts and tricks to wow your kids when all else fails:
Did you know?...
Didaskaleinophobia is the fear of going to school. Phobatrivaphobia is a fear of trivia about phobias. 55 per cent of people yawn within 5 minutes of seeing someone else yawn. Reading about yawning makes most people yawn. hello, zzzzz zzzz?
It doesn't make sense …
The 36-letter word 'Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia' means a fear of long words. The 5-syllable word 'monosyllabic' means a word with only one syllable in. 'Dyslexia' which is the name for a difficulty with spelling is actually a really hard word to spell.
Try it:
For a neat trick at the end of tea, let everyone have a Fortune Banana. Before peeling it, ask your banana a yes-or-no question. Take a knife and slice a 1cm chunk off the bottom of the fruit. Look inside the chunk and you will see a "Y" for yes or a dot for no.
Multiplying by 11...
Most older children will know the 'trick' of doubling-up a digit when you multiply it by eleven. 8 times 11 is 88. 5 times 11 is 55 and so on... But do they know how to multiply two-digit numbers by 11? 21 times 11 is easy when you know how. Here goes:
21 x 11
- First separate the digits of the two-digit number: (2 1) - Then add them together in your head (2 + 1 = 3) - Then write that number in the middle of the two separated digits: (2 3 1) - So the answer to 21 x 11 is 231!
Happy Shopping
This is a great game which teaches kids about budgetting.
Pretend that you are going to redecorate your child's room. Give them a budget - perhaps $2000 and a few catalogs from your local shops. They have to buy the furniture, linen, pictures from the catalogs and come in under the budget.
This is also a great game to play at Christmas time or at birthday time. Not only will the kids learn about handling money, but you will also find out what presents they want.
Guess What Distance That Is
As you drive with the kids to school or on a holiday, point out a landmark or an object in the distance. Everyone guesses how far away it is. The driver checks the kilometres on his speedometer and whoever guesses the closest is the winner.
That's cool maths for kids!