I begin thinking about spring math activities as soon as March hits because I am over winter by then. Spring is a time of renewal and the time of the school year when we need to push learning into high gear. Students are more independent, and we must challenge them to demonstrate an understanding of the grade-level standards.
Students who feel successful in math class are happier and more engaged in learning. Check out The Bonus Ultimate Guide for Creating a Growth Mindset Classroom and Students Who Love Math for ideas, lessons, and mindset surveys to use in your classroom. You can also sign up to receive other freebies from me Here at Easternshoremathteacher.com.
I am all for a snow day or even a good snowstorm, but after that, I dream of warmer weather. Using seasonal math activities connects learning to the real world and keeps learning engaging. I especially love to use spring math ideas because springtime is so beautiful, with everything growing and turning green where I live. I also think the spring is when we need to push our students to master the grade level standards, so they are ready to move on to the next grade level. In addition, where I live, it is the time we take standardized math tests, so students need to feel confident in what they have learned during the school year.
Spring Math Ideas
Playing in Nature with Math
Having students design a garden or outside space is one way to connect learning to nature. Students can use flower catalogs or websites to pick out plants or flowers for their space. Depending on the grade level standards you are trying to cover, students will depend on the activity you chose to do:
- They can count and represent a certain number of plants in their garden by drawing or cutting out pictures of the plants. (counting and representing a number)
- Listing plants and their costs and then finding the final cost of their garden. (addition and subtraction, money)
- Calculating the Area and Perimeter of a grade and the plants they have included. (measurement- area and perimeter). Check out my Zoo Area Perimeter Project for Additional Ideas.
Measure growth
Measuring is an essential element of math that is useful throughout our lives. Measuring things that grow and change in size, like plants, is fun and full of opportunities for math learning at all levels.
For kids who are just being introduced to the concept of measurement, you can go into your backyard with a ruler and look for bulbs that are starting to grow and measure the shoots – daffodils and other shooting flowers with bright green spears are easy to measure as they grow.
Older kids can practice recording measurements on a chart or graph; if there’s more than one bulb, you can compare sizes and measurements.
Looking for Angles
You can look for angles between the trunks of trees and the branches they send up and between the leaves and twigs, they are growing from. Discuss whether the angles are acute or obtuse, and see if you can find any right angles. You can bring estimation into the mix by having a rough guess of how many degrees each angle might be.
Growth Mindset in Mathematics to Help with Test Taking
In many states, springtime is also the time standardized tests are given. Therefore, this is a great time to do some growth mindset lessons and learn how important putting in the effort is in our learning.
For ideas, lessons, and surveys to use in your classroom, download this Bonus The Ultimate Guide for Creating a Growth Mindset Classroom and Students Who Love Math to prepare students for the tests.
Check out the 5 Growth Mindset Lessons to Use with Students that have Google Slides, worksheets, and recommended literature books and videos to use with students this spring. These lessons will motivate students to try their best and not give up.
Spring Ideas for Elementary Math Students
Spring Math Preschool Activities
Head out on a counting nature. There are so many things you can count outdoors: leaves, stones, jumps in puddles…. You literally have endless options!
Have students use seasonal pictures to count objects or represent the number on a ten frame. These are ready to be used as soon as you download them to save time. Seasonal Counters like these from Oriental Trading are optional. Students can begin with numbers 1-5 and then progress to numbers up to 20.
- Counting Number Worksheets and Slides for Spring– Slides, and Worksheets
- Represent a Number Bundle for All Seasons– Worksheets, Games, and Number Mats
Spring Math Worksheets for Kindergarten
In Kindergarten, students continue to represent numbers and break numbers apart. These resources use numbers up to 20, and the activities can easily be differentiated for your students.
The ten frame activities have rainbow and flower ten frames for students to represent numbers up to 20. In addition, it includes matching cards, worksheets, and games.
- Ten Frames Interactive Activities for Spring– Slides, and Worksheets
Students need to compose and decompose numbers to 10. Giving students different opportunities to break numbers apart prepares them for addition and subtraction. These slides have different formats and movable seasonal counters.
- Breaking Numbers Apart for Spring– Slides, and Worksheets
You can also provide students with a number and have them find objects outside to represent that number. For example, they could find 8 pinecones or 4 pinecones and 4 sticks. There are so many different options.
breaking-numbers-apartSpring Math Worksheet
Using some spring themed worksheets helps connect learning to the real world. I believe changing the math counter or tools can make a lesson “new” and more enjoyable for students.
These counting digital slides have objects to count in a spring picture. Students can do them on digital slides or printable worksheets. These make great warm-ups, whole classes, independent or center practice.
- Counting Number Worksheets and Slides for Spring– Slides, and Worksheets
The ten frame activities have seasonal ten frames for students to represent numbers up to 20. In addition, it includes matching cards, worksheets, and games.
- Represent a Number Bundle for All Seasons– Worksheets, Games, and Number Mats
Spring Story Problems
Another fun way to incorporate springtime into your lessons is to create story problems about spring time activities or use seasonal counters to solve the problems.
Students need practice with subtraction story problems by modeling the problems with seasonal counters.
- Kindergarten Subtraction Story Problems for Spring– Slides, and Worksheets
Math Spring Bulletin Boards Ideas
I am all about bulletin boards that serve a purpose. For example, displaying students’ work from a lesson shows students how proud you are of their hard work and effort.
Hanging artifacts from Growth Mindset lessons reminds students that they need to work hard and not give up. In addition, you can use these lessons to set goals and display them on a bulletin board as a reminder of what they want to achieve.
You can also take pictures of all the fun outdoor math activities you did this spring and create a beautiful display on the bulletin board. This activity can also be sent home for students to do at home. What items in nature can they use to represent a number or decompose a number? What examples of math do they see in nature? It could turn into a math scavenger hunt!
Spring Math Games
There are many spring math games and activities. In addition, you can change many games to spring games by changing the counters or math tools used. For example, I like to find seasonal counters online at Oriental Trading, such as these toadstool counters.
- Represent a Number Bundle for All Seasons– Worksheets, Games, and Number Mats
- Try out these Math Puzzles to get students thinking about numbers.
Spring Break Math Games
If parents are looking for activities to do over spring break with students, I always remind them of the fluency standards. Students in Kindergarten should be fluent in their facts to 5, first-grade to 10, and 2nd-grade facts to 20. In 3rd grade, students need to learn multiplication and division facts.
Flashcards, online games, or digital slides are fun and engaging ways for students to practice their facts.
In addition, having students go outside and find real-life math can be so much fun. Count the plants they see, create patterns, or have them design a garden! There are so many opportunities in nature to use math.
Using chalk outside to write numbers or solve math problems can also be so much fun.
Related Articles for Spring Math Activities
- 12 Spring Topic Ideas and the Best Books to Help Teach Them
- Top 3 Proven Ways of Teaching the Definition for Mindset to Students
- What are Easy to Use Engaging Student Learning Activities in Math?
Spring Math Activities
Spring math activities are fun and engaging to prepare students for the end of the school year. Try incorporating math into science or art class to capture all the beauty during the spring season.
Do you want to create a positive math classroom and students who enjoy doing math? Check out The Bonus Ultimate Guide for Creating a Growth Mindset Classroom and Students Who Love Math for ideas, lessons, and mindset surveys to use in your classroom. You can also sign up to receive other freebies from me Here at Easternshoremathteacher.com.
Use the spring time to help students master their grade level standards and continue to cultivate a positive math climate in your classroom. What are your favorite spring math activities?
