Play the Game of Math

When math instruction is limited to drills and memorization, children and parents can begin to see it as a boring task. Although 80 per cent of traditional mathematics teaching relies on memorization1, parents can make math more fun and approachable by linking it to real-world examples.

Memorization of math facts and formulas is an important part of math instruction, explains Dr. Richard E. Bavaria, vice president of education for Sylvan Learning Centre. But in order for children to really understand even basic math facts, they must discover them. Using games and activities is a fun way to encourage math discovery in children.

To help parents use games to teach math, the experts at Sylvan Learning Centre have these tips and ideas:

1. Play popular board games that require basic math skills. Snakes & Ladders and Sorry! develop number sense. 24 and Yahtzee help computation speed and accuracy. Problem solving skills are developed through games like Mastermind and Connect Four.

2. Assemble puzzles with your child. Puzzles help children learn spatial and visual organization. These are the basic lessons of geometry.

3. A deck of cards can be a valuable math tool. Card games begin to teach the lesson of probability and reinforce addition and subtraction memorization for children learning basic math facts.

4. Dice are helpful for younger children to practice number facts to six. If they are stumped, they can count the dots to find the sum.

5. Relate math to your children’s favourite sport. Keeping score is a math exercise! Ask them to calculate the number of points needed for their favourite team to win. Encourage them to create multiple point combinations to reach that score.

6. Use driving time as math game time. Invite children to figure out how long it will take to get to the destination or estimate how much it will cost to fill up the gas tank.

7. Play other car games like guess my number. This will reinforce logic skills with children of all ages.

8. If your child receives an allowance, use it to formulate mathematics problems and teach them about saving. For older children, relate percentage problems to their allowance.

9. Dominoes are a great game for children of all ages. Smaller children can use them to recognize similar quantities while older children can explore the concepts of probability.

10. Use the Internet to find other fun math games.

Sylvan Learning Centre’s math program is a combination of learning math through basic math facts and discovery. This type of learning builds the foundation for computational fluency and continued success in mathematics.

Also see: monopoly the board game.

About The Author:

Bill Kern is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.1st-in-games.com. Great games for the entire family for hours of fun or competition. We feature all your favorites.