Shoe Tracing Measurement Activity

We love math fun around here, and today we are sharing our Shoe Tracing Measurement Activity with you. Measurement is such a fun concept that we are introduced to as toddlers as bigger and smaller or taller and shorter. Then as kids move into first and second grade, they begin to use rulers to measure how much smaller or taller. The are able to quantify those differences using actual units of measurement, and it is so much fun!

I’ve always loved rulers. In fact, I have a secret stockpile in an undisclosed location in my office so that I can always find one when I need it. Apparently my kids love them too, because they tend to disappear all too often. They use them to trace straight lines, but they also love to measure things. For this activity, we decided to measure something that everyone has with them each day. SHOES!!

Shoes are another favorite around here (I live in a house with mostly girls), and as soon as I told them the plan, they all scurried off to round up as many of their favorite shoes as they could find. While they were off gathering, I pulled out a large roll of paper, and cut off a 10 section to lay on the floor. As the shoes came pouring in, I had them lay them all out across the paper. Then we armed the kids with crayons, and they each got to trace their shoes on the paper.

Once the tracing was complete, we broke out the rulers. Everyone picked out their favorite color from my stash, and measured their shoe marks. We talked about how to determine the length in inches, and for each shoe, we marked the length inside the shoe mark. When we finished it was fun to compare and find out who had the largest and smallest shoes.

This shoe tracing measurement activity was simple, easy, and fun. I love that it reinforces kindergarten through second grade math principles, while using an item that children see, hold and use every day. Everyone got their shoes back in the end, and hopefully, every time they look at them from now on, they’ll think about their size and watching/measuring how that grows and changes over time.

Have a good one!