Math Games
Remember how excited your kids got about early math concepts like counting and identifying shapes? Sometimes that joy of discovery takes the back seat when tricky math terms pop up as kids get older. But kids can find that joy of discovery again – the key is making math connect to real life.
These Math Games put a fun twist on activities that you and your child do every day:
- Budget Buddy: Next time you go shopping with your child for new clothes, school supplies, supplies for an upcoming party or even for tonight’s dinner, have your child keep track of the budget in a notebook. Not only will he be sharpening his addition and subtraction skills, you’ll even have proof (in his own handwriting!) of why he can’t buy all 6 Spiderman tee-shirts, even if they are cool.
- Touch Down!: While you’re watching a sports game, have your child follow her favorite team and track the points scored. Ask questions like, “how many more points did they score this quarter than last?” This will help practice addition, subtraction and comparing numbers.
- Game Night: Have family Game Nights with games like Uno or Monopoly to give your child a fun opportunity to practice number recognition, counting and currency.
- Baking Bonanza: While making dinner, ask your child to help you measure ingredients for a dish. Ask questions like, “can you use this 1/4 cup to get measure 1 cup of milk?” or “I need 1/4 cup of butter, and this stick is marked in Tablespoons. How many Tablespoons do I need?” This will help your child practice measurement terms, comparisons and fractions.
On the Homework Help Discussion Forum, Sweetvtmom shares a tasty way to practice fractions: “every time we had something food wise to do with fractions – I would ask her what is was – like 2/3 of a pie – or 1/8 of a pizza … If there was 2/4 left – I would have her look at it and tell me what else it could be.”
Post your favorite math games below to share with other parents!