4 Math Games and Activities
Does your child groan each time you whip out a math textbook? Well, you’re not alone. According to the poll conducted by Ipsos MORI, up to 36% of young (15-24 year-olds) people feel anxious about math. Even younger kids aren’t exempt from this unhealthy fear of math.
Maybe you’ve tried everything, from stepping in yourself to taking online math classes for kids. If you still haven’t achieved results, it might be time to look towards the missing piece of the puzzle: fun math games and activities. In this guide, we’ll take a closer look at the best math games and activities to try out with your kid. Let’s get down to brass tacks, shall we?
Why Math Games?
Over the years, math games have proven to be immensely beneficial to the learning process. This explains why Brighterly.com and many other edtech programs tend to include game-based learning in their curriculums. Just in case you’re harboring any doubts, here are a few reasons to start using math games:
Increased engagement
More often than not, kids’ eyes would glaze over when you flip open a math textbook or mention any mathematical concept. If they do make it past the first ten minutes of a lesson, they might get distracted within the next ten minutes. This is because most math lessons are drab and aren’t designed to hold the attention of flighty six-year-olds. However, math games seem to do the trick. Since games are naturally exciting and fun, it’s easier to keep the kids engaged. In fact, they might not even realize that they’re in a math lesson until you point it out.
Strategic thinking skill development
When playing games, children are often faced with challenges which they have to overcome before advancing to the next level. To get past these challenges, they have to think strategically and critically. Over time, their strategic thinking skills develop and become sharper, which may come in handy in other real-life situations.
Regular math practice
Here’s the thing: no child wants to practice math every day. They’ll probably find it repetitive and seek solace in a more fun activity. However, math games allow for regular practice without repetitiveness. Since there’s always a new activity or level to try out, practicing math would feel more natural and less repetitive.
The Best Math Games and Activities for Kids
Math can be fun for kids, whether they learn online or in person. For some parents, online math games might seem scary as they can be quite addictive. Nevertheless, there are tons of fun activities that don’t require an iPad or online presence. All you need are a few materials that can be found in your house or basement. Ready to make math a fun experience for your kid? Here a few activities to try:
Snowball addition
This is a great activity for teaching your child basic mathematical concepts such as addition and subtraction.
What you need: Flash cards, plastic tubs, and white pom poms.
How to play: Write down mathematical problems on a couple of flashcards. For instance, you could have simple problems like: 6-3, 4+5, etc. Clip the flashcards to the side of the plastic tubs and then have your child throw the correct amount of snowballs (pom poms) into the tubs. For example, if the flashcard on a tub says 6-3, your kid should throw in three “snowballs.” If it’s snowing, you can substitute pom poms for real snowballs to liven up the activity and make it more fun.
What we love about this activity: Snowball addition gives your child the opportunity to learn how to add and think for themselves. Although you’re participating in the activity as well, your kid gets to experience hands-on learning and solve problems by themselves in a fun way. What’s more, it’s an accessible game as the items needed to play are typically within reach.
Shape scavenger hunt
Shape scavenger hunt provides kids with an introduction to basic geometry. With this activity, kids get to learn about different shapes and how to recognize each of them.
What you need: cardboard, a pair of scissors, pencils, and paper.
How to play: Use a pair of scissors to cut out different shapes such as triangles and circles. Next, draw different shapes on a sheet of paper. If you have more than one kid, ensure that each kid has a sheet of their own to help them identify what they’re looking for.
Now, this is where it gets tricky. Hide the cardboard shapes in different parts of the house (or classroom if you’re a teacher). Next, send your kids on a scavenger hunt and let them find the shapes. The first child to find all the shapes wins.
Guess my number
This is a fun way for 1st and 2nd grade students to learn all about numbers.
What you need: A sheet of paper and white board markers.
How to play: Print out a grid of the numbers 1-100 on a sheet of paper. This paper would be handled by all the kids so you might want to laminate it. Once you’ve done this, have a kid think of a number between 0-99. The other kids would then try to guess the number, crossing off the incorrect ones as they go. Finally, the kid who guesses correctly gets to pick the new number.
Stand up or sit down
This activity is a great way to keep your kids’ brains awake and exert physical energy. You don’t need any physical materials for this. You reel out a problem and kids answer it. If the answer is a prime number, they get to stand up. If it’s an even number, they can sit down. Make sure you have bottles of water handy because things can get really sweaty!
Final Thoughts
Looking to enliven your classroom or make your kids love math? These activities are a great place to start! Whether you’re teaching them addition or numbers, a fun activity would always help. Good luck!
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
