Authentic Teaching – Vacation Math

This is the time of year when families tend to travel with children.  It is also the time of year when parents are often faced with the fearsome gift shop.  (Full disclosure:  I love gift shops, but my husband is definitely afraid of them!)

Giving children a budget before a trip is not only a great way to teach math, but also a way to cut down on whining.  Win, Win!  With young children the number can be how many souvenirs they can buy (remember that young children don’t even understand that everything in a store is for sale, so you can pick a few things in your price range and let them pick one).  For older children, they can have an amount they can spend during the trip.  You can even include calculating tax (and finding out the tax rate where you are traveling) with teenagers.

And remember it is also OK to say no souvenirs.  If this is not in the budget, it’s not in the budget.