Occupational Therapy

Teach Fractions in the Kitchen

Colleen Beck OTR/L

Colleen Beck, OTR/L is a pediatric occupational therapist and the owner and author of The OT Toolbox website. She manages all of The OT Toolbox social media accounts and runs the popular newsletter. Colleen created The OT Toolbox in 2011 and since then has written thousands of blog posts designed to support therapy providers, educators, parents, counselors, admin, and caregivers in promoting the healthy development of kids. Check out Colleen's blog posts below:

by Colleen Beck OTR/L
July 7, 2015

Kids can learn fractions while cooking with kids in the kitchen using tools you already have. We used measuring cups and measuring spoons to discuss parts, whole, and fractions while doing a little cooking with kids recently.

$Teach kids fractions using kitchen utensils like measuring cups and measuring spoons.$

We’ve been on a learning kick this month with our Learning with Free Materials series, part of the 31 Days of Homeschooling Tips as we blog along with other bloggers with learning at home tips and tools.

Teach fractions with measuring cups and kitchen tools:

This post contains affiliate links. We used measuring cups and spoons that we already had, making our learning activity free. There are many

kid-friendly measuring cups
out there that are plastic, large handled, and no-spill. I love the bright colors of these
measuring cups and spoons, which are perfect for kids in the kitchen. While there are many kid-friendly cooking utensils out there, just grab whatever you’ve got in your kitchen for learning fractions with the kids for a free (or almost free) learning activity at home.

To practice fractions with kids, fill a large basin with water. Using the measuring cups, show your child the one cup and half-cup measuring cup. You can demonstrate how the half-cup utensil will fill up the one cup utensil with two scoops. Then remove one half of the water by dumping the water back into the bin. Ask your child how many scoops it took to remove the water from a one cup (whole) cup.

Continue the process using the 1/3 and 1/4 measuring cups. By adding scoops of water, kids can get a visual on how the parts make up a whole.

Continue the fractions discussion by scooping and measuring with the tablespoon and 1/2 tablespoon measuring spoons and the teaspoon, 1/2 teaspoon, and 1/4 teaspoon measuring spoons.

More playful math activities you will like: