Kids, Math, and Waterfowl Hunting

I love taking children waterfowl hunting for a variety of reasons. It's an activity that they can be involved in (going to get the birds, spotting them in the air, playing around when there is no activity). And if you love integrating education into outdoor activities, like I do, then I have a few 'math ideas' to do when waterfowl hunting.

Ages 3 to 5

Counting: Have the kids count how many birds they see in the flock, or how many birds fall down. You could also have them count how many flocks fly over.

Ages 6 to 7

Basic Addition: Have children count the total amount of birds of each flock that flies by, and then add them up throughout the day to see how many birds migrated over on that date. You could also have them add each species of bird.

Basic Subtraction: Have your kid count the total birds in the upcoming flock. Then, after a few of them have been shot, total up the fallen ones. Then subtract the fallen ones to figure out how many are left in the flock. Once again, you could break this down into a 'species' thing.

Ages 8 to 12

Basic Multiplication: Have your kids estimate how many birds each flock will have, and then have them estimate how many flocks will fly over. Multiply the birds in each flock by the total flocks to find their estimate for the birds total that they think will fly over. Have each kid take a guess and keep track throughout the day to see who 'wins' (who's estimate was closest).

Basic Division: Have your kids guess how many birds total will fly over. Then have them guess how many flocks will fly over. Divide the bird total by the flock total to find out their guess for how many average birds will be in each flock. Keep track throughout the day to see which kid is closest (to find the 'average' from your numbers look below).

Averages: Count the total amount of birds of each flock that flies over throughout the day.Then figure out the average number of birds in each flock (take the total birds and divide it by how many flocks flew over). You could also do this for each individual species.http://www.yjimagery.com/alaskan-wildlife.html