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Search Recommended Math Resources
Search Recommended Math Resources
Use the search filters below to return results. Keep an eye out for some of my top favorites-- my "BookSmart Picks"-- that are sure to entertain and educate your kids! And, many activities use common materials you likely have at home already. Look for entries marked with the "Common Items" icon to find activities that shouldn't require any purchase.
This number bingo game helps kids develop their counting and addition skills, as well as number sense and number word recognition. Players must match number tiles to images on their cards, and the first player with a full card wins by yelling out, “Zingo!” Adding extra fun is sliding the zinger to get your next number to match…
This number bingo game helps kids develop their counting and addition skills, as well as number sense and number word recognition. Players must match number tiles to images on their cards, and the first player with a full card wins by yelling out, “Zingo!” Adding extra fun is sliding the zinger to get your next number to match. With two levels of play, one for counting and one for addition, this game is great for 4 year olds through first graders.
In this fun, colorful game, an inventor has built dozens of robot bodies, but needs help matching the heads to the bodies. Using the Robot Randomizer, players determine the attributes of the matching head and search the board for that particular head. With everyone searching at once, it’s a race to find the matching head and score a token…
In this fun, colorful game, an inventor has built dozens of robot bodies, but needs help matching the heads to the bodies. Using the Robot Randomizer, players determine the attributes of the matching head and search the board for that particular head. With everyone searching at once, it’s a race to find the matching head and score a token. The first player to earn five tokens wins the game. Finding the head with the correct color nose, eyes, mouth, and face helps develop classification and reasoning skills. And with 120 different robot heads, the game doesn’t get old!
What a classic! In this game, the object is to follow a pattern of lights and sounds: watch, remember, and repeat. Players must keep track of the color/ light pattern and repeat it by pressing the colored buttons in the correct order. The sequence gets longer as well as faster as the game goes on…
What a classic! I absolutely loved playing this game all through elementary school (and would happily play a round now!). In this game, the object is to follow a pattern of lights and sounds: watch, remember, and repeat. Players must keep track of the color/ light pattern and repeat it by pressing the colored buttons in the correct order. The sequence gets longer as well as faster as the game goes on, steadily increasing the difficulty as you go. If you make a mistake in the sequence, the game plays a “fail” sound and your score is shown through a series of lights and sounds on the game. You can play this one on your own, or challenge friends to beat your score. A nice update to the original 1970s version of the game is that this version has three volume levels and even a silent mode, so if you want to play on your own you can avoid disturbing others around you.
A Mensa Select Award winner, Qwirkle is a great game for little ones up to adults. The object of the game is simple: build lines of tiles that match either by color or by shape. While the rules are simple and easy to explain, it is a good game to build a child’s strategic thinking and use increasingly tricky tactical maneuvers…
A Mensa Select Award winner, Qwirkle is a great game for little ones up to adults. The object of the game is simple: build lines of tiles that match either by color or by shape. It is similar to the game Set in that way, but without the speed component. While the rules are simple and easy to explain, it is a good game to build a child’s strategic thinking and use increasingly tricky tactical maneuvers. Younger children will be more focused on color and shape recognition, and the many possible moves will keep older children engaged while challenging their spatial reasoning and planning skills.
Origami is a fun way to work on geometric and spatial reasoning, and even help develop fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. This particular kit has easy to follow instructions for the different creations, along with fold marks on the papers for easy folding. It comes with everything you need to create 40 origami animals…
Origami is a fun way to work on geometric and spatial reasoning, and even help develop fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. This particular kit has easy to follow instructions for the different creations, along with fold marks on the papers for easy folding. It comes with everything you need to create 40 origami animals– most of the paper included is animal print, with a few papers that are simply patterned, and quite a few stickers for your finished products! The projects included range from beginner level to advanced, so kids of all ages and experience can enjoy the set.
Send your child on the hunt for specific shapes and angles, whether around the house, in the yard, at the park, or even while out running errands.
Send your child on the hunt for specific shapes and angles, whether around the house, in the yard, at the park, or even while out running errands. The more they are able to contextualize shapes in the real world, the more comfortable they will be when practicing fundamental geometric skills.
This is a great activity to get your child thinking about weight and balance, since the mobile won’t work very well without balancing out the weight.
Constructing mobiles is a fun activity that enables creative expression while also testing physical properties. This is a great way to get your child thinking about weight and balance, since a mobile will not work very well without balancing out its weight.
In this activity, you will be demonstrating the types of shapes that sink and those that float. Your child can have fun sculpting boats with clay while also learning about displacement.
In this activity, you will be demonstrating the types of shapes that sink and those that float. Your child can have fun sculpting bathtub boats with clay while also learning about displacement. Splash around while soaking up plenty of math principles.
In this game, players aim to find addends to make a stated sum. This provides great practice not just with addition facts, but also with flexible thinking and strategizing.
In this game, players aim to find addends to make a stated sum. This provides great practice not just with addition facts, but also with flexible thinking and strategizing. I Spy Sums goes a bit beyond the basic addition facts since it involves some two-digit numbers, so if your child has not had much practice yet, either starting with another game or taking out all two-digit cards would be a better fit for them.
In Guess My Number, players use math vocabulary to ask yes or no questions in order to determine a secret number. There are many ways to differentiate this math card game according to your child’s ability, using vocabulary and understanding of place value at their level.
In Guess My Number, players use math vocabulary to ask yes or no questions in order to determine a secret number. There are many ways to differentiate this math card game according to your child’s ability, using vocabulary and understanding of place value at their level. More experienced children can be assessed on their comprehension of multiples and factors, while younger children can further their understanding of comparing numbers using terms like “greater than” and “less than.”
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