Find Word Problems in Real Life

Look for word problems in real life. An example might be, if you open a new carton of a dozen eggs, and you use 4 eggs to cook dinner, close the carton and ask your child how many eggs are left.

Measure Things Around the House

Measure objects around the house by placing smaller objects end-to-end. (e.g. place paperclips end-to-end to measure the length of one side of a book)

Play Rock, Paper, Scissors-Math Version

Play a version of “Rock, Paper, Scissors” called “I Love Math”. Players chant “I Love Math” and put out a number of fingers. See who can add the fingers and say the sum first! This can be played for subtraction by subtracting the smaller group of fingers from the larger group.

Add Math to Favorite Games

Use any favorite game (Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Life, etc.) to incorporate basic fact practice. As part of each turn, flip a flash card or roll 2 dice to make a math fact. The player must answer correctly before they can move their marker on the game board.

Make Pictures Using Shapes

Make pictures using basic shapes and talk about them. Some questions might be “What shapes did you use? How do you know which shapes are squares and which shapes are rectangles? Which shapes are similar and why?”

Build Things

Build things with recycled boxes, cans and containers.

Share Equal Amounts

Provide experiences for your child to create and share equal amounts with 2 or 4 people, such as a pie, a pan of brownies or a box of crayons.

Related Addition and Subtraction Facts

Ten Frames-Subtraction

Ten Frames-Addition

Open Number Lines

GO FISH

Instead of asking for numbers, ask "Do you have the answer for ___ ? (use addition, subtraction facts)

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OLD MAID

Use a queen for the Old Maid and give one point for each doubles-fact your child can state when all the cards are paired up.

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SLAP JACK

Players decide on an operation. (addition or subtraction) Then each player puts a card down and the first person to slap the pair and tell the answer gets the two cards.

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WAR

Place one card down and play for the highest or lowest value card. OR Place two cards down and play for the highest answer to an addition or subtraction fact.

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SOLITAIRE

Remove the face cards from the deck and lay the cards out as in Solitaire. Look for number pairs that add up to 10 and move them to a pile at the top. Try to remove all the cards. (Use two decks and play against your child to add a little competition!)

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MATCH THE FACTS

Use a deck of basic flashcards for addition or subtraction. Lay the cards out fact side up, in 5 rows with 4 cards in each row. On their turn a player picks up a pair of flashcards with the same sum or difference. New fact cards replace the empty spaces each round. Play continues until all the cards are matched. Players must recite their matches with answers at the end of the game.

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ADD TO TEN

Remove face cards from a deck of cards and place all other cards face up. Players take turns picking up two cards that total 10. When all pairs are found, each player says or writes the addition facts they found that total 10.

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ADDITION WAR

Play “Addition War”. Remove face cards from a deck and deal out the remaining cards. Each player flips over a card. The player to say the sum first wins the cards.

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