Summertime can be a time of great fun for children. But, if your children are like my children, it won't be long before you hear these words, "Mom, I'm bored!" This is when you have a great opportunity to take things you may already have around the house and use them in a different way AND help your child be prepared for that first day of school in the fall. Here are a few simple games that can be played with a partner or a small group. They are fun and I bet your child won't even feel like he or she is studying!
Domino Games
Domino Keepers Addition
- a game for 2 players (or two teams)
- All of the dominoes are placed in the centre face down.
- Both players pick up a domino at the same time.
- Each player tells the sum of the dots on their domino, e.g. 2+4=6, 5+3=8.
- The player with the highest answer keeps both dominoes. If both players have the same answer, each keeps a domino. The winner is the player or team with the most dominoes when all dominoes have been picked up.
Domino Keepers Multiplication
- a game for 2 players (or two teams)
- Play this game as above but instead of adding the two numbers on the domino, multiply them.
- These games tick all of the boxes - the kids love them, they are simple to play and all you need is a set of dominoes!
Card Games
Addition/ Subtraction War
Like in the regular game of War, you are trying to get all the cards by having the highest card value. But in addition war you have two piles and flip over two cards at the same time. You must add your cards together to see if you have the highest value. To make it more challenging you could even have three piles and add three digits. This mental math practice makes computations a lot easier, even for adults.
Obviously subtraction war is played the same way, except you use subtraction to find the value of your cards. The great thing about using the speed cards is that you get to see the mathematical patterns that the 2’s cards make. Your children will start to notice that the patterns are different from the 3’s, 4’s cards etc.
Multiplication War
Like in the regular game of War, you are trying to get all the cards by having the highest card value. But in multiplication war you have two piles and flip over two cards at the same time. You must multiply your cards together to see if you have the highest product. This mental math practice makes computations a lot easier, even for adults.
Defensive Multiplication
Your child will become a multiplication genius with this exciting card game! Players strategize to earn points as they place playing cards on their handmade game board.
What You Need:
Deck of playing cards, face cards removed
4 sheets of paper
Tape
Pencil
Scratch paper
Black marker
2 Players, or 2 teams
What You Do:
- Have your child and her friends create a game board by drawing a 2 x 2 grid on each piece of paper. Tape the 4 sheets of paper together on the back and create a 4 x 4 grid.
- Announce that aces = 1.
- Ask one of the players to remove all of the face cards from the deck. Then divide the cards they removed into red and black cards. Each player gets either the red or black cards.
- The game consists of 5 rounds. A round of play is made up of 16 turns (8 for each player) and features a different target product. You can decide on whatever target products you'd like, but the target products we used are: 60, 72, 84, 90, and 96. These number have lots of factors so they're easier to work with.
- The two players must face each other. Players take turns placing any one of their cards into one of the spaces on the game board.
- Whoever completes a line of 4 cards in a row in any direction (including diagonally), successfully creating the target product, wins one point. An example of 84: 7 x 2 x 3 x 2 = 84.
- Once the board is full the round is complete. Clear the board and redistribute the cards back to the players before starting the next round.
- The player who has the most points at the end of 5 rounds wins!
Other Games
Egg Carton Shake-Up
Here’s a fun way for kids to practice their math facts & also reuse egg cartons!*
-To prepare the egg carton, simply number the bottom of each space 1-12.
-Pop two counters into the egg carton. (Marbles, Pom Poms, Dried Beans, etc. work great!)
-In pairs (or even groups of 3 or 4) or individually, take turns shaking the egg carton.
– They then place the egg carton right side up & open it to see where the counters ended up.
– On a sheet of paper record the numbers the counters are on, multiplying or adding (whichever you re practicing) them for their score.
– Add scores as they go.
– First player to 200 (or whatever number you set) is the winner!
*Remember to check for egg allergies in the class before using egg cartons.
Place Value Practice
This one can be done as a whole group or as a small group with a student acting as the number caller. Students set up a game board with dashes for each digit, plus a trash can. You can decide how many digits you want the number to be, depending on what your students are learning. In the above pictures, the game board was set up for a 3-digit number, plus the trash can. Teacher (or student) pulls one card from the deck, tells it to the class and each student must decide where to place the number on their game board, trying to end up with a number with the greatest value. Continue pulling cards one at a time and make sure that students place the number for each turn. Students can use the trash can to discard a number they don't want to use, but they can only use it once during each round. This game can also be done to create numbers with the least value and can be used for numbers with as many digits as you'd like.
I like this game because it requires skill and a bit of luck - any student can win. It can also reveal a lot - for instance when students are discarding eights and nines and placing ones in the hundreds place. Finally, I like it because it requires students to read their answer - reading large numbers can be a skill that students may not practice enough.
