Back to library
Maths at home: Measurement
Measurement happens throughout our day. One great way to help children improve their measurement skills at home is to talk about what you are measuring and get them involved. This can just be done incidentally as part of your daily routine, or you might like to try the simple games and activities provided in this article.
Everyday routines
You don’t need to make opportunities to teach your child measurement, just get them involved in the measurements that come up throughout the day.
When you find yourself measuring something:
- Talk through the process with your child – what units are you using (centimeters, degrees, millilitres, minutes)? What measuring devices are you using (tape measure, thermometer, measuring jug, clock)? How do you measure accurately (for example, make sure the ruler is straight or read the measuring jug from the side)?
- Encourage your child to help you with the measurements or try it themselves.
- Encourage your child to make comparisons and estimates – how long do they think a task will take to do? Do they think all of the dinner leftovers will fit into the 500 ml container? Which thing is heavier or bigger? Check your estimates.
There are lots of things we measure in a day. For example:
- checking the time. For example, to see if you are going to be on time for school or swimming lessons. You could ask your child to estimate how long a task may take. For example, getting dressed or cleaning their teeth. Look at the time before and after the task or use a stopwatch to check the estimate.
- talking about distances. When you go out, talk about the distances you are travelling. Tell your child how far something is, and if possible compare it to a familiar distance. For example, it is 1 kilometre away, which is the same distance as getting to school.
- compare objects around the house. For example, when putting the shopping away, ask your child to lift two things and see which feels heavier (such as the cheese or the bread), then compare their perceived measurement with the measurements printed on the pack or weigh them.
Cooking
Cooking together is a brilliant way to work in some incidental measurement. Talk about what you are measuring or ask your child to do the measurement, depending on their age. There are plenty of different things we measure (attributes) when cooking:
- capacity, or how much a container holds and how much of an ingredient you are using. For example, for younger children you may show them ¼ of a cup in a measuring jug and tell them you are adding ¼ cup of water to the pan. Children with a bit more experience might be able to look at the measuring jug and tell you how much is in it. You might ask older children to measure out the water for you.
- temperature – for example, you may talk to your child about the temperature the oven needs to be for that recipe. You may ask a more experienced child to read the temperature on the display or dial.
- mass, or how heavy something is. For example, you might get your child to read the scales or try cutting the amount of butter needed for a recipe.
- time – for example, encourage your child to measure time by setting a timer or looking at a clock to see when the food is going to be ready.
Games and activities
These fun activities are easy to set up and are a great way for your child to practise measuring.
Years F–2
Water play
You will need:
- a large tub
- a range of containers in different sizes
- water, sand or rice.
Fill the tub with the water, sand or rice. Encourage your child to fill the containers, empty them and pour the contents of one container into another. This gives younger children a sense of the capacity of different containers.
You could also just do this activity in the bath.
Item hunt
You will need:
-
some toys or common household items (such as plastic containers, pantry items or books)
-
paperclips
-
paper
-
crayons/pencils.
Ask your child to:
-
find some similar items, such as dolls, trucks, blocks or plastic containers and line them up from shortest to longest or lightest to heaviest.
-
draw the items in order after placing them. This will help children start to think about the size of visual representations and how that relates to a physical object.
-
estimate how long each item is and then encourage them to measure the items using the paper clips. Compare their estimates with the actual lengths.
Years 3–4
Making playdough
Making your own playdough is a fun way to get some hands-on measuring practice. You can find instructions on our Make your own playdough activity sheet.
Which container holds the most?
You will need:
- some different sized and shaped containers (narrow, wide, tall, short)
- some small objects, such as marbles, toy cars, sultanas.
Ask your child which container they think will hold the most. They then fill the containers with the small objects to test their estimates.
Years 5–6
Fastest and furthest!
You will need:
- a ball
- stopwatch (such as the one on your phone) or watch
- a tape measure
- space to run (such as a park or backyard).
This activity is great with family or friends but can also be done solo.
-
Ask your child (and anyone else who is joining in) to estimate how long it will take them to run across or around the outside of the space (for example, across the oval or around the backyard).
-
Time each person, and compare the results to the estimates and to each other.
-
Ask the participants to estimate how far they can throw or kick a ball. Measure the distances and compare with the estimates. You might like to give the results in metres and translate them to centimetres (for example, 4.5 metres or 450 centimeters).
If you don’t have access to a big space or are short on time, get creative! How far can everyone slide a coin across the table, or roll a marble down the hallway? How long does it take to run from the bathroom to the kitchen? You can use anything that you can estimate then measure! Get your child involved in setting the challenges.
Converting recipes
You will need:
- a recipe – you can choose your own or use the handy activity sheet we have prepared for you!
- some kitchen measuring devices (measuring jug, cups and spoons).
Ask your child to:
- convert the amounts given in the recipe into different units. For example, ask them to convert cup measures into millilitres. They might like to use measuring cups and spoons to help with the conversions. This will give them practice with understanding equivalences.
- scale the recipe up or down. For example, working out how much of each ingredient they would need to make a double batch or a half batch.
If appropriate, they could make their chosen recipe. This will help them link the measurements that are written in the recipe with the physical amount of the ingredients.
There is also a parent version of the worksheet that includes answers to assist your discussion with your child.
Summary
As with all skills, the best way to build confidence is by doing. But you don’t need to be doing drills, the key is to show children how measurement is useful in daily life and make it as fun as possible. Adapt these ideas as you go and find ways to emphasise measurement skills that are relevant to your family.