Tutors do a great job of helping children to build their confidence in school. One things a good tutor will do is gamify learning. That when you make a game our of learning!

Did you know that playing math games with your kids helps them remember math facts better than just rote memorization alone?

This is because children are having fun while they are learning and are using strategies as well as exploring how math facts relate to real life. This concept is discussed in great detail in the paper, “Fluency Without Fear: Research Evidence on the Best Ways to Learn Math Facts”, by Jo Boaler (Professor of Mathematics Education), Cathy Williams & Amanda Confer.

This has definitely been true for the students of Tracing Talent! We enjoy playing math games together, to improve on fundamental math skills and learn new ones! 

Tracing Talent tutors children online or in-person, near Westerose, Alberta.

Here are 5 FREE math games we play with students Pre-K to Grade 3:

1. Number Scavenger Hunt: Look around the house, classroom, in the newspaper, while driving, etc for any numbers you can find.

2. Counting Objects: Use everyday routines as a chance to practice counting. Count the number of toys you pick up while cleaning. Count the number of seconds it takes you to put your clothes on. Count and line up the number of rocks, leaves, sticks, cars, etc while playing outside.

3. Family (Board) Games: Whether it’s counting spaces on games such as Snakes and Ladders, or Playing Yahtzee and adding or multiplying rolls, math is involved in many family games.

4. Dominoes/Dice: Counting the number of dots on a side of a domino or dice and adding (or multiplying) them together can be lots of fun and it helps kids to quickly recognize what a group of a certain number looks like. This skill is called subitizing.

5. Cards: Use playing cards to count the number of objects, to add or multiply, or even subtract and divide.