The Math Blaster Blog

Photo by Robot B., ©2014 Some rights reserved. Licensed by Creative Commons Public Works License

Wrap up multiplication and division in a pinch with these cute Mummy Hotdogs that are sure to please even your pickiest eater! Use hot dogs and croissant dough to build your child’s division skills while cooking up an afternoon snack for the family. This activity is especially helpful if your child is a visual learner- seeing one hot dog cut into two halves can help them understand multiplication at a basic level and then apply this skill to larger numbers. Read on to learn how to incorporate multiplication and division into these fun treats!

Supplies Needed

• Hotdogs
• Croissant, crescent or breadstick dough
• Mustard or ketchup
  …Yep, that’s really it! This activity is a simple, hands-on way to build your child’s math skills with supplies that you probably already have in your kitchen!

Instructions

How much math is built into this activity is totally up to you and your child’s current math skills. If your son or daughter is still learning multiplication and division, then using hot dogs as a visual reference may be your best bet. If your child is more advanced, you can also use the dough as visual aids.

1. Preheat oven according to dough package directions
2. Help your child cut all of the hot dogs in half. This is a great opportunity to start incorporating math into the activity! Ask your child questions like “If we had a pack of ten hot dogs, and we cut them all in half, that’s like multiplying by two- how many hot dogs would we have?” Math Tip: You can also use the hot dogs to visualize division, for example; lay out eight hot dogs on the table and then ask your child something like “Eight divided by two is what?” Then help them count out two groups of four hot dogs. Actually seeing division in the form of hot dogs (or croissant strips, as we will see in the next step) is a great way to help your child understand this math process
3. Lay out the dough on a cutting board and help your child cut it into strips about 1/2 inch wide. Math Tip: you’ll likely have more croissant strips than hot dogs, so this is an opportunity to quiz your child on multiplication and division problems using higher numbers and potentially more complex questions. If your child is comfortable multiplying and dividing, come up with harder equations as you cut the dough into strips.
4. Wrap the dough around the hot dog, leaving a space for the mummy’s face (see photo). This is the most fun part of the activity- your child gets to create mini mummies!
5. Place the mummies onto a cookie tray and bake according to dough package directions.
6. Once the mummies are done cooking, take them out of the oven and allow them to cool completely. Once they have cooled, help your child add eyes using ketchup or mustard. This is another opportunity to use multiplication! If you have twenty mummies, and you’re adding two eyes to each mummy, how many eyes are you adding total?

Enjoy these tasty snacks! They make a great afternoon snack, and are easily portable so can also be added to your child’s lunchbox the next day. They’re sure to be a hit on the playground!

Filed under: Baking with kids, Division, Elementary Math, Family Activities, Family Fun, Holiday, Kitchen Math, Math, Math Activity, Multiplication Tagged: | Activities, division, Halloween, Halloween Cooking, Halloween Snack, Kids in the Kitchen, kitchen math, math activity, math practice, multiplication, Mummy