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Fun Math Games That Children Will Love

By: Teresa Evans

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Finding ways to make math fun and interesting can be challenging. Kids need to practice certain skills in math to become competent but doing identical drills again and again isn’t much fun.

However, making mathematics exciting can be as easy as adding a few fun math games into a daily math routine. Math games can be used to introduce new concepts, practice math skills and consolidate math concepts.

Here are several different types of math games to incorporate into your math program.

Math Board Games
Board games can be used to teach different math skills. Commercial board games are available but these can be expensive and often one board game will only teach or practice one skill. Why not involve the kids in creating math board games or look for ready made board games that can be printed from the internet?

Math Card Games
Math card games can be played with an ordinary deck of cards or with specifically designed cards. Simple match up games are easy to create with cards having an equation on one card and the answer on the matching card. This can be played similar to Memory or Concentration. Children simply turn over 2 cards on their turn and if they match they get to keep the cards.

Pencil and Paper Games
Many games can be played with just a pencil and paper. Everyone knows the word game Hangman but not everyone is aware that Hangman can be adapted to a math game. Just choose an equation and draw a dash for each of the numerals and signs in the equation, e.g. 24+18=42 would be written as 8 dashes. Children then guess the signs and the numerals. Write the sign or numeral on the dash for each accurate guess and draw a part of the hangman for each incorrect guess. If you don’t like the idea of drawing a hangman, just change it to something else and play ‘Racing Car’ or ‘Robot’ instead. Just select the shape to be drawn before you start.

Tic Tac Toe can also become a math game. Simply draw a tic tac toe grid by drawing two vertical lines crossing two horizontal lines. One player plays with odd numbers - 1, 3, 5, 7, 9; the other player uses even numbers - 2, 4, 6, 8 and 0 (which is neither odd nor even). Players take turns to write their numbers. Odd numbers start. Use each number only once. The first player to complete a line that adds up to 15 is the champion. The line can have both odd and even numbers.

Other Games
Loads of math games can be played with little or no equipment. Twenty Questions can be played with no equipment at all. One player thinks of a number within a set range, e.g. between 0 and 100. The other player/s asks questions about the number until they guess what the number is. Each question can only be answered with yes or no, e.g. Is it an odd number? Is it bigger than 50?

Tips for choosing Math Games
· Make sure that the instructions are easy to follow.
· Make sure that the game will challenge the ability level of the children without being so difficult that it will be frustrating.
· Ensure that everyone is aware of all of the rules.
· Include children in making and choosing the games to give them a sense of ownership of the games. Then they will be even more eager to play as they will regard it as ‘our game’ or ‘the game that we made’.
· Let the children know why they are playing the game and what they will get from playing the game.

If you are looking for a way to really get kids engaged in math, think games. A few fun math games could be all that you require to get kids actually enjoying math.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

Teresa Evans is an educator and parent who uses math games to get kids interested in about math. She shares her favorite math games including board games, card games and game sheets at, Making Math More Fun.

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