Easy DIY Pocket Chart & Math Activity

The summer is such a busy time for families but between vacations, summer camp, splashing at the pool and everyday chores you need to find some time for learning. Now you have heard me say that there is never a time when children aren’t learning and I stand by that, but the learning I am speaking of here are more specific. I am talking about finding ways for your children to stay sharp with reading and math facts over the summer so that they avoid the ” Summer Slide”. If you aren’t familiar with this, what it is referring to is the loss children experience over the summer when facts and skills aren’t used. There are so many ways to keep reading going over the summer so when Elmer’s asked me to share a learning activity that would combat summer slide I knew I wanted to focus on math. As part of Elmer’s Crafty Teachers Crew, I am using some really fun Elmer’s products to make this DIY pocket chart and below I will show you how you can adjust it to any level of learner!

Gather your materials. You will need an Elmer’s foam board, some Elmer’s foam mounting tape, Elmer’s paint markers, plain paper, popsicle sticks, and scissors.

Start by cutting your plain paper into 20 small squares. Please remember not to freak out if this isn’t perfect, your child will learn just as well with almost perfectly square pockets.

Add the numbers 1-20 on the squares. I did them in pink and yellow because my daughter loves that combination of colors. I am trying to make this as much fun as I can for her.

Flip your numbers over and add the foam mounting tape on the bottom and two sides of the numbered square.

Peel the back off and stick to the foam board…voila a pocket!

Write equations that correspond to the numbers on the pockets. This is where you can adjust this to any level. I did addition and subtraction for my 5-year-old ( she needed help for some of the larger numbers) but you can write the number word out on the sticks, you can put dots and have your child count, you can do tally marks, division or multiplication… the list goes on! Make it to suit their needs.

Set the foam board anywhere – this is what I love about using a foam board is that it’s sturdy enough to lean up against a wall so you can learn anywhere.

She immediately knew what to do and the pockets were sturdy too!

She needed a little help but managed to find the right pockets for a majority of the equations without my help.

Summer slide isn’t just about reading so make sure to find ways to fit a little math into your summer schedule too, it doesn’t have to take a lot of your time to set up or too much time away from summer activities for your child either.

As stated above this post is part of a campaign with Elmer’s.