Kid Math Games for the Classroom, Home and Beyond
Adapted from ImaginationSoup
Math isn’t just for school – it’s in your daily life, too. Find the opportunities to weave in math practice with your kids throughout the day, and incorporate easy math games into classroom activities. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
1. Breakfast Math
CEREAL: How many 1/4 cups to fill up your cereal bowl? (estimation)
¼ CUP PLUS: What do those fractions add up to make? (addition of fractions)
TIME TO GO: How many minutes until we leave? How many hours until you return home? (elapsed time)
2. Sports Math
GAME SCORES: There is lots of math in all sports – think of adding, subtracting, and averaging . . . See this post about basketball math. (ratios, subtraction)
3. Car Math
LICENSE PLATES: Look at the three numbers on license plates and add them up. (addition)
4. Restaurant Math
HOW MUCH? Round everyone’s meal price to the nearest dollar. (estimation)
PRICE OF MEAL: Add up the items ordered before you get the bill! (decimal addition)
TIP: Figure out the tip. Move the decimal to get 10%, double it and voila! You have your tip. (percentage)
5. Home Math
OBSERVE: Search for patterns in your house or in nature. (geometry)
BOOK: How many more pages left to read in your book? (subtraction)
EVEN STEVEN: Divide up the food you’re eating into equal parts. (division)
OTHER SUPER FUN MATH GAMES . . .
Math War. Use a deck of cards and play War. The winner is the one who can add up the sum fastest.
Monopoly
Melissa Taylor is a freelance writer and blogger, an award winning educational blogger at ImaginationSoup.net, an award winning teacher with a M.A. in Education, the Book Editor-at-Large for Colorado Parent Magazine and a parent of two children, ages 6 and 9.
