Week 1: Session 2 - Game Time

Learning Objective: To set your child up to enjoy Math through games

I try and play at least one Math game a week with my daughter. It makes Math feel fun but there is so much learning to be had from playing games. When it's a Math 'Lesson' I try and use a Math specific game but in all honesty if she's not feeling it any game will do as there is normally some Math involved.

Math learning happens very naturally with games but in our role as Parent / Teacher we can also enhance this learning:

• rolling the dice and counting the numbers on the dice with them.

• Dealing out game pieces, ask your small person to help you count out what needs to go where.

• Counting counters along the game board, I sometimes ask my daughter to move my piece for me too and we count them together (young learners can find it hard to put numbers to concrete things, so counting numbers and moving a counter to a new space for each number is great practice for them.)

Here is a list of some of our favourite games for Math Learning time.

Tiny Polka Dot

This game is awesome - it has multiple games to play with the cards in the pack, ranging from very basic number recognition to operations with numbers

Dominoes

One of my favourite games to play. You can have so much fun with this beyond just the basic game. counting, ordering, patterns......

Rubiks Race

This has given our family many hours of fun. We don't always play it as a race. Sometime we just create a pattern and copy or we 'order' the pieces and discuss why that order.....

Orchard Toys Games

We have so many of these games and every single one of them has been fun and educational. I love their math ones and so do my kiddos. These can be found on Amazon

Learning Resources Games

Again, you can't go wrong with these games. Fun and educational.

Just good old white board, pen and dice

So much fun with these three things and so many 'games' can be played. I sometimes let me daughter make the games up which is always interesting and then she plays one of mine (I will do a whole session on whiteboard games sometime soon)