Math Games for Kids

Looking for a fun and exciting way to teach math concepts to children? Increase motivation and learning in a way that is enjoyable and pleasant by using the following math games for kids.

A Book Scavenger Hunt

This is a game that teaches counting and ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd, 3rd...). The first thing to do is find a book for each child. It works well, and takes less time, for all children to use the same book title and edition, but it is not necessary. The idea is that the answer will spell out a sentence or two and the winner is the first one to decipher it. Each child will be provided with a clue sheet which will list directions for finding each word.

An example would be to say "find the 5th word of the 3rd paragraph on the 11th page after page 101." The children would then look for this word and write it down. You can also work in math problems, such as "go to the page that is twenty-one less than eighty-four and find the 7th word in the 2nd paragraph from the end of the page." Increase the complexity for older children and simplify for younger ones.

Picture Shapes

Math games for kids, especially the younger ones, can benefit from including pictures from books or coloring books. This game accomplishes this by using a picture that has obvious shapes in it, such as balloons for circles, doors for rectangles, etc., then seeing who can find the most shapes hidden. For older children you can include things such as octagons, cylinders, and cones.

Taking Directions

This is a great math game for a larger group of kids to play. The great thing about this game is that it shows us that math games for kids do not need to involve sitting at a table with a pencil in hand. This is played outdoors and involves putting a mat, or other flat object, in the yard and pairing the kids up. One child in each group wears a blind fold. The other child will give them directions.

The goal is for the child with the blind fold to follow the directions so that he/she ends up on the mat. The trick is that the child doing the talking can only give a set number of clues and can only use numbers for how many feet or yards, and the words forward, backward, right, or left. You can put obstacles in the way such as orange road cones or beach balls that they have to maneuver around to get to the mat. The kids giving the directions must stay stationary while giving the clues. Make sure this game is supervised by an adult who can make sure that the kids do not run into one another or trip and fall.

Board Games

Board games offer a variety of creative and interesting ways for teaching math concepts to children. There are many math games for kids that are in board game format. Some of these include Sorry, Yahtzee, and Rummikub. There are also many board games for kids that can be altered to include math skills. One example is to play Scrabble and give triple the points for each math term spelled out, as well as having the children keep a running score for every player.

Matching Math Cards

This is a twist on Old Maid where the goal is to match two cards by putting all of them face-down and turning over two cards at a time on each turn to see if they match. This game is different than Old Maid because it is centered around math concepts. You start by writing a math problem on an index card, using addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division. Then you make another math problem on the next index card that is different but has the same answer. After you have made between twelve and twenty of these cards you lay them face down. Whenever someone turns over two cards with the same answer they get to keep them. The person with the most cards at the end of the game wins.

Learning math does not need to be dull and boring. It can be fun and challenging by using the above math games for kids, where math becomes play instead of work.