Get Ready for School with These Math Games

With school starting back up, it’s important to ensure your child is ready for his or her classes, especially mathematics. A strong understanding of math is one of the most critical learning tools in your child’s education. You can create a positive approach to math by exploring it with your child through every day occurrences such as noting symmetry in leaves or patterns in flowers as you walk down the street. For more interactive play, consider these games that make math fun:

This post is brought to you by FreeKI Games. This is a guest post and compensation was received to publish this article.

What Are My Chances?  Understanding Probability

Probability is an essential aspect in many areas of math. By playing games that involve chance, you can help your child learn about the fundamental laws of probability. With the game “What Are My Chances?” you’ll need two coins, paper, and a pen or pencil to keep score. This game is perfect for children in grades K-5.

1. Flip the first coin. Each time the coin shows tails, your child gains a point. Each time it shows heads, you gain a point. Tally these points on the paper. Continue flipping for 50 times. The winner is the person with the most points. If, at the end of the game, there’s a person with 10 points more than the other, they’ll get an extra 10 points. Discuss with your child if this happens often, and ask them why not.
2. The next round, flip both coins. Your child gains a point if the coins either come up with two heads or two tails. You’ll gain a point whenever the coins are mixed face. Continue again for 50 flips and discuss.  Is the game fair?  Why or why not?

Guess If You Can! Understanding the Meaning of Numbers

This game works for children in grades K-5, and helps develop an understanding of number characteristics and their meanings.

Ask your child to think of a number between 1 and 100. Once they’ve selected a number, you’ll try to guess that number by asking a series of questions about its characteristics such as:

• You: Is it more than 50?
• Child: Yes.
• You: Is it an odd number?
• Child: Yes:
• You: Is it more than 70 but less than 90?
• Child: No.
• …and so forth until you guess the number.

At the end of the game, switch turns, pick a number, and let your child guess by asking you a series of questions.

What Are the Coins? Understanding Patterns and Money

Understanding patterns and unknown variables is a critical aspect of algebra, and using money as a learning tool can jumpstart your child’s skills for the real world. This game is ideal for children in grades 2-5 and will require a mix of hidden coins.

You’ll begin by asking your child a series of questions in order to determine what and how many coins you have. For instance:

• I have three coins in my wallet. They equal 16 cents. What are they? (a penny, nickel, and dime).
• After you run through a mix of questions, switch roles and let your child ask you the questions.

Brainie: An Online Game Testing Core Math Skills and Algebraic Thinking

Strapped for time? Having your kids visit an online site like FreeKI Games will help them develop and grow their math skills with a fun and easy game. Brainie is designed with multiple levels like Tetris, and works for children grades 1-6. Kids choose numbers, or processes like addition to get rid of blocks in order to score points.

Playing these games at home is a cool way to grow your child’s math skills, all while having fun!