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Moon sand is fun to manipulate, but did you know it can be used to teach fractions as well? It can!
Making your own moon sand is safe and easy, in fact you can use our own recipe. Once you make a batch, take a peek below and see how to use your freshly made moon sand to teach kids basic fraction concepts.
Teaching Fractions with Moon Sand
It is easier than you might think!
Here is what you will need:
moon sand (find our recipe here)
scrap paper
markers
butter knife
cookie sheet
measuring cups
If you are concerned about your child using a butter knife, you can use another flat edge tool such as a ruler or piece of cardboard. These also work fine when using moon sand to teach fractions.
Now let’s get started!
Begin by crafting your moon sand. Place the sand on a cookie sheet to protect your surface and make it easy to manipulate.
Using the moon sand, fill your measuring cup to the top. Pack the sand in well and smooth the top. You can also use this opportunity to talk about the measuring cup and units of measurement.
Carefully flip the cup over so the sand comes out in a nice clean chunk. The sand should resemble the cup. If the shape does not come out evenly, try again.
Talk about how the shape is WHOLE since it has not been cut into pieces yet. Once you start cutting it, you will be creating fractions.
Take your object (knife, ruler, etc) and cut the shape in HALF. Take this opportunity to talk about the shape and how it is now two pieces or in halves.
Cut the halves in half again, creating quarters. Talk about how your shape is now in 4ths.
You can remove pieces of the moon sand shape to start creating fractions. Show what ¼, ¾, and other fractions look like.
Create the moon sand shape again and let kids continue to cut and create fractions.
Kids will enjoy creating shapes, cutting them into fractions, and creating them again. This is a fun, hands on way to explore fractions while also enjoying a sensory experience! Try whipping up your own batch and give this easy fractions activity a try. It is a fun way to explore fractions and other basic math concepts!
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