Fun Math Games for Kids

     I love using visuals to teach children, especially when it comes to math. When I taught preschool, I would always use empty egg cartons and cereal to sort and count. The treat would always draw children into the activity, but there was one rule: the child couldn't eat the cereal until the learning activity was over. Today, I would like to share with you just how I taught math using an egg carton and cereal.

     For the counting activity, I would cut out and place numbers 1-6 (one number for each hole in the carton). Once the numbers were placed, I would ask the child to look at each number. Then count out the same number of cereal, and place them into each carton hole. To make it a little more challenging, I would mix up the numbers. For example: Instead of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; I would change it to 5, 3, 4, 1, 6, 2. If the child did well with both challenges, I would add more numbers to the carton. For example: instead of 1-6, I could add 7-12. Then ask the child to count, and place cereal to match the written number.

     Another great way to test a child's math skill is to have them sort their cereal. I would always ask kids to sort by color. If he or she mastered this concept, I would ask the child to sort the cereal by size. To make it a little more challenging, I would switch the cereal out for one that has different shapes (i.e. Lucky Charms) and ask the child to sort the cereal by their shapes. This is a terrific way to test your child to see where they stand in learning their colors, sizes, and shapes.

     These small math activities could be used in any math center, or just as a fun activity to do at home with your spare time. Kids really enjoy these activities, especially getting that tasty reward at the end!