Kids develop their mathematical knowledge and abilities by playing active games and moving around. Choose a few of these to try out soon with your kids. Many of these ideas can be modified to work with various math concepts. Due to the numerous everyday activities that involve math, teaching math to young kids can be a lot of fun. To learn math, young kids can engage in play and hands-on activities rather than using rote learning and worksheets. It has become popular to play math games in class to keep students interested, but make sure that these exercises develop students’ skills and reinforce the lesson material.1

Candy Counting

Candy counting

Counting candies is an excellent math manipulative for young kids. To try this activity, create some pattern cards and use them to sort and count. A pattern that alternates between two colors on the first page might be an AB pattern. The second page might have an ABC pattern, which uses three colors overall. Your kid will arrange the colored candies in this activity on top of the corresponding color to make a pattern. The final circle on the ABC pattern cards needs to be left empty. To make it more fun, let your kid be the one to pick out the colors.2

Sorting Colors

Sorting Colors

Young kids spend a lot of time practicing sorting. Using a sorting mat and colorful candies, you can arrange items according to color. Even colorful accessories like buttons and colored ribbons can be used to practice sorting! These are excellent for practicing one-to-one correspondence and learning how to count.2

Throwing Beans According to Place Value

Throwing Beans

Ask your kid to toss beans into bins marked with place values such as ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, and more. Tossing beans into bins, kids count them and find out what number they generated.1

Graphing

Graphing

young kids should always be exposed to graphing. It doesn’t have to be challenging; you could do a simple activity like graphing various shapes on a bar graph using tiny images or toys. Make graphing interactive for your kid by using simpler items that they will enjoy! Use their preferred toys, candy, or chocolates as examples. This activity enables even young kids to begin learning about graphing effectively.2

While enhancing lessons, these kid-friendly math games will not only keep them interested, but also help improve their knowledge and fact fluency.

Although the suggested age ranges are for young learners, you can use the ideas for kids in higher grades by adapting the content to suit different skill and difficulty levels. 

If you found this article informative, visit BYJU’S FutureSchool Blog to read more fun articles on math learning.

References:

  1. 30 Active Math Games and Activities for Kids Who Love To Move. (n.d.). Retrieved July 24, 2022, from https://www.weareteachers.com/active-math-games/ 
  2. Hands-On Math Activities for Preschoolers. (n.d.). Retrieved July 24, 2022, from https://teachingmama.org/15-hands-on-math-activities-preschoolers/ 
  3. 20 Exciting Math Games for Kids to Skyrocket New Math Skills On-The-Go | Prodigy Education. (n.d.). Retrieved July 24, 2022, from https://www.prodigygame.com/in-en/blog/classroom-math-games-for-kids/ 
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