Are your kids struggling with math? Is math leading your children to tears? Maybe it’s time to play some fun math games!
Whether your kids find math challenging or you simply want to help enhance their math skills, there are plenty of fun math games that will help your children improve their math skills.
We’ll be adding to this list regularly, so be sure to check back for more math games!
Listen to Fun Math Games for Kids on the HomeSchool ThinkTank Parenting Podcast
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Listen to this podcast episode about Fun Math Games for Kids!
5 Fun Math Games Your Kids Will Love!
Prime Climb: A Fun Math Board Game
In our search for videos about why math games matter and math games that we hadn’t played yet, we came across Prime Climb. The Amazon reviews of this game are excellent and the TEDx talk by the co-creator of this game is outstanding.
Be sure to scroll to the bottom of this page for the TEDx talk with the co-creator of Prime Climb, Dan Finkel.
According to the game manufacturer, this is the perfect game or gift for pre-teens and teens. It’s excellent for 2-4 players and homeschool groups. It’s easy to learn and you can play the game over and over again.
Learn and master multiplication, division, factorization and prime number concepts by combining colors.
Tenzi: A Fun Dice Game That Helps Kids Learn Math
TENZI is an excellent game. For optimum playing opportunities, we suggest that you purchase the package with 100 dice.
This game is excellent for adding, multiplying, patterns, and more. The sky is the limit when it comes to this game.
We love this game so much that we’ve dedicated a short article and podcast episode about TENZI.
Yahtzee: A Family Dice Game
Do you have kids who are struggling with multiplication or addition?
Yahtzee isn’t new, but it’s still an excellent game to help your children improve their math skills while having fun!
Listen to the HomeSchool ThinkTank Parenting Podcast!
Farkle: A Fun Game for the Family
Play Farkle so that your kids can practice adding and multiplying 50’s and 100’s.
Watch the video above to learn more!
Meet Math Game Creator, Dan Finkel
Watch this video about teaching math with games.
Meet Dan Finkel, the co-creator of two educational and fun math games, Tiny Polka Dot and Prime Climb. Dan is all about helping children learn through play.
Here are Dan’s guidelines for choosing math games for the classroom. We think the same guidelines are perfect for homeschool group game days and games that your family will play regularly.
- The game should have choice.
- Math should be the engine of the game.
- It should be simple to learn and quick to play.
How to Play Tiny Polka Dot
Five Principles of Extraordinary Math Teachers (and Homeschool Parents)
Dan Finkel, co-founder of Math 4 Love.
Lessons from Dan Finkel’s TEDx Talk
- Start with a question. Once a question is asked, most people are more open to hearing the answer.
- Thinking happens only when we have time to struggle. Kids need time to think and grapple with real problems. They also develop an ability to take a risk.
- Teachers and parents are not the answer key. Children might have a question that you don’t know the answer to, that’s okay. Respond with, “I don’t know, let’s find out.” Math can become an adventure. Ask your child to explain the math to you or try to figure it out together. Teach them that not knowing is not failure.
- Principle Four: Say, “Yes,” to your childrens’ ideas. Refuse to be the answer key and create space for mathematical conversation and debate. This draws everyone in because we love to see people disagree. Let kids doubt, affirm, deny, understand the answers to math problems. Let them see real thinking out loud.
- Principle Five: Play. Mathematics is not about following rules. It’s about playing and exploring and fighting and looking for clues and sometimes breaking things. Einstein called play the highest form of research. A math teacher who lets their student play with math gives them the gift of ownership.
Do You Have Questions or Need Help with Homeschooling?
Play is the Answer
Dan concludes, “Parents if you want to know how to nurture the mathematical instincts of your children, play is the answer. What books are to reading, play is to mathematics. A home filled with blocks and puzzles and games and play is a home where mathematical thinking can flourish.”
Another Way to Play Tiny Polka Dot
There are many ways to play this fun math game!
More About Curriculum and Homeschooling
Discover more articles, podcast episodes, and videos.
- Math manipulatives every kid should have.
- Discover more homeschool curriculum.
- Have you heard about gameschooling?
- Fun online educational quizzes for kids and teens.
- What’s the difference between spiral and mastery based math curriculum?
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