Working with arrays at home

Beginning this week, we'll be discussing arrays and how they assist us in solving multiplication.
Listed below are some things you can do to reinforce arrays at home.

Arrays Family Activities

Arrays at the Market
Take a trip to the grocery store with your child. Help your child find different examples of arrays and count them. For example, you can point out a dozen eggs, half-dozen tray of muffins, or bunches of flowers. Help your child identify the number of objects in each group and the total number of groups. Then help him or her count groups to find the total number of objects.


Ways to Make Six
Give your child six pieces of small fruit, such as berries, plums, or apricots. Then have your child group the fruit in different ways, making sure that each group has the same number of pieces. Your child may want to make 1 group of 6 pieces, 2 groups of 3 pieces each, etc. After your child makes equal groups, help him or her count the pieces and write an addition or multiplication sentence to describe each arrangement. You can repeat the activity using other even numbers, such as 4, 8, and 12.