5 Fun Games that Teach Early Math Skills

Math… most people either love it or hate it.

I’m grateful to say that after thinking I was “bad at math” all of my life, I found out that I really, really LOVE math. And I’m actually pretty darn good at it.

Math is essential to life, and we certainly do not want our kids disliking such crucial skills.

So, how can we instill strong math skills in our young children, while also making it super fun?

Games! Check out the games below and enjoy!

1| Sum Swamp Board Game

I have a confession… this is my most favorite board game. Sum Swamp is an amazing game for teaching early math skills to young children.

It’s for ages 5+ and I LOOOOOOVE playing it with my daughter. It has really helped her with her math, and she just turned 5!

I don’t believe in rushing academics, but she loves the game and has learned so much from playing.

So, roll the dice, do some math, and take your critters on a trip around the swamp! You can get it on Amazon HERE.

2| HiHo Cherry-O

Another GREAT board game that kids (and I) love to play. HiHo Cheery-O is a learning game that doesn’t feel like learning at all! It’s that fun!

I played this game when I was little, and have the original board game for my daughter to use.

Using the spinner, you see if you will either collect, or lose cherries from your bucket and off of your tree.

Look out for the dog and the bird, because those rascals will take your apples from right under your nose!

You can get it on Amazon HERE.

3| Basic Hopscotch

This vintage game goes back to “the olden days”. Not only are kids getting in some physical activity but there are also early math skills to be learned.

For young children who are learning to count, the rhythm of counting while they jump will increase their ability to pick up on order of numbers.

Any time you pair physical activity with learning, it helps to solidify the skill.

In addition to the normal hopscotch, addition or subtraction problems can be written in the boxes, and the kids say the answer out loud with each hop.

For older children, try multiplication and division problems in the boxes. Grab your sidewalk chalk and get after it!

For those bad weather days, draw a hopscotch board with Expo markers on the floor {TILED floors, of course :)}.

4| Dice

Dice are another simple, and inexpensive way to incorporate math in a fun way. Small dice are fun, but large dice are even better! Grab these HUGE dice from Amazon and see how they engage your children!

A simple dice game is to have your children take turns rolling two dice. Have them add, subtract, or multiply the numbers.

For younger children, have them simply count the dots. Use vocabulary like “add together”, “all together”, to enhance their math language.

If your child is writing, have him/her count the dots and then write down the number that they counted.

5| Swat the Number (Sticky notes, dice, fly swatter)

On sticky notes, write your numbers of choice that your child is working on, and stick them up on a wall.

Have your child roll the die and with the fly swatter, swat the number they landed on.

For older kids, you can add in as many dice as needed to reach the place value you desire. This is a fun, active game that kids adore.

For even more math games, head over to Homeschool to Homeschool for a g reat list of games you can play with your kids!