All parents struggle when teaching math to their children, unless you are a mathematician yourself. There are even several parenting jokes going around about the math homework children come home with.
The good news is, there are numerous games, tools, didactic materials, and even apps that can help you achieve the complicated mission of helping your children strengthen their math abilities and skills.
To help you feel more comfortable when doing this, we’ve selected some of the best math games for kids out there. We were super careful when selecting them, and we made sure to show you math games that are in a number of different categories, such as unplugged games, online math games, and even some pedagogical materials that can be very helpful when delivering 21st-century skills to your children.
So, what are the best math games for kids? Take some notes, because these fun math games might even help you understand some arithmetic, algebra, geometry or algorithmic processes you couldn’t understand in your own childhood.
Ready? Here we go…
What are some hands-on math games for kids?
We’ve discussed the power of hands-on learning on several occasions in the past. When mentioning the benefits, we clearly understand that hands-on learning helps students, kids, and learners truly comprehend the content delivered, and develop lifelong skills while doing so.
Hands-on learning even encourages learners to take action, and helps us with their self-confidence, while also increasing their self-esteem. Why? Because they realize that they can do anything if they just get the right tools.
Just so you know, there are even 3D printable math games your kids can design themselves, and then play with, to strengthen their useful math skills. But, what are the best hands-on math games (or materials) for kids? Check out these ones…
Montessori Math Materials
In the past, we mentioned Maria Montessori, and we told you a little bit about her educational methodology and phenomenal ideas. One of the things we can highlight about her and the paradigms she designed, is the ongoing usage of materials kids can manipulate, touch, and play with.
When it comes to math, there are numerous Montessori math materials you can either have at home, or encourage your child’s school to have. The Montessori bead chains, or the number rods, or even the sandpaper numerals can help children learn math while actually visualizing it.
The Montessori wooden fraction materials are an excellent example of how children can understand this concept in a fun, easy, and encouraging way. Check out these materials and let yourself be surprised!
Hanger and clothespins for preschoolers
You can do this very cute math game with your young children at home without needing any materials that are hard to get. If you have a preschooler at home, try this nice game and see how they respond to it. Make sure to use colorful clothespins to encourage and motivate them.
Multiplying using your hands
This is a very literal expression of “hands-on learning”. There are numerous tricks and games you can teach your kids to make their lives easier when it comes to multiplication. Many of these hand games will help them when solving mathematical problems at school, and even when calculating their change if they go to a store.
To start, we want to show you this cute trick to master the 9 times table with a video from Mya from FullTimeKid.
Now, did you know that there’s another way to use your hands in order to multiply any number higher than 6? In this explanatory video, you and your kids will fully understand how to do so. Check it out… and try it out by actually writing these numbers on your kids’ fingers. Make it fun! That is the key!
What are the best math board games for kids?
Board games are exciting and super fun to play. Even though your kids might find some of them a little bit old-fashioned, especially when they know they can create their own app in one of Tekkie Uni’s online courses, board games can still be enjoyable, encouraging and fun.
It all depends on what you do as a family to motivate your children to be part of this fun family activity. But, what are the best board games to teach math to your children? Let’s have a look at some of them…
Math Dice
With the Math Dice, your kids will have lots of fun while having to do addition, subtraction, division, multiplication, and even while building an equation. How’s that possible? Well, thanks to this colorful and exciting board game and its six amazing dice, your children will truly enjoy the process of learning math. Give it a try!
Monopoly
Yes, believe it or not, good old Monopoly can also be very helpful and can be used as a great math game for kids. Like in real life, while playing Monopoly, your children will have to buy, sell, and count how much they have left throughout the entire game session.
To do this, you can add some extra challenges to the game and give them extra points if they calculate how much they have left without using their fingers or a calculator. Be creative! Add some of your own ideas to this old but amazing board game. Give it a try! It could truly help your children with their math skills.
Proof!
Proof’s goal is very simple: For players to create equations from a 9 card grid and collect more cards than any of the opponents. It was designed to be played by kids from age 9 and up, and it can be played by 2 to 6 players. Let the fun math begin!
Best math apps for kids
Another thing that can definitely help are math games for kids in the form of an app. Although, the best app your kids can have is one that they create themselves, there are numerous existing apps that serve as amazing tools for kids to develop and strengthen their math abilities.
Here we want to show you a few of these fun math games for kids; games they can use directly from their smartphones.
ChessMatec
We’ve talked about ChessMatec before. It is an amazing app in which your kids will learn how to play chess, and therefore, how to become better algorithmic and mathematical thinkers.
In its friendly, colorful and user-friendly environment, ChessMatec shows your kids everything they need to know to play chess like a world champion.
As we said before, by learning how to play chess with this cute app, your kids will strengthen numerous abilities such as strategic thinking, critical thinking and algorithmic thinking.
Twelve a Dozen
In this spectacular game, math becomes an adventure in which players will have to help “Twelve” save his family by solving puzzles, math problems, and exciting missions. There are 50 epic levels, and kids will not want to stop playing… But what is the good news? They’ll be strengthening their math skills while doing so!
Khan Academy
Khan Academy is one of the best apps for kids to learn math. It has exceptional practical exercises, instructional videos created by math experts. As they say it themselves, they’d like to inspire a lifetime of learning and discovery.
It has very cool activities such as drawing, painting, reading, and storytelling that can help children gain more abilities to successfully complete all the math challenges they might face in the future.
How can I help my child with math at home?
The answer to this frequently asked question is way simpler than what you thought: By getting involved in a creative, active, fun way! Yes, math does not have to be complicated, stressful or a headache.
When doing some of these math games with your children, you’ll start experiencing math from a new, fresh, innovative perspective and you might even start enjoying it way more than in your own school years.
First of all, we have to understand that the world has changed, and the math abilities our kids have to master are different from the ones we needed to learn a few decades ago.
Just think about the jobs of the future, and the jobs you currently have, and it will be crystal clear than our kids need to receive, strengthen and master skills that you might not even know are so important and impactful.
In simple words: Be present, be creative, research new ways to motivate your kids, offer them a fun experience they can truly enjoy, and let them know that math is much more than just addition and subtraction.
Math, just like coding, is a way of thinking that can enable them to do, plan, and execute breathtaking things, and reach even higher peaks.
Coding can help!
Another cool activity you can offer your kids for them to improve their math skills is coding. As we said before, when it is taught in the right environment and with innovative tools, math can help your children think differently. Coding can do the exact same thing, while giving your kids all the skills they need to succeed in tomorrow’s world.
Let’s see if you actually learned something by reading this article? What is the best way for your kids to learn coding? In a fun, engaging, and encouraging environment.
Take a look at the online coding courses Tekkie Uni has to offer, and see why it can be extremely beneficial for your little ones to learn in a safe, open space, with amazing instructors that will make mistakes into learning experiences, and that will encourage your children to believe in themselves in order to create breathtaking things.
Are your kids ready for the future? It is up to you to prepare them, and coding can help.
