It is easy to whip up games for your kids to play when they
are indoors. It is even better if you can integrate some learning into it.
There are many apps out in the market that do just that. You can also check out
the fun math games that are available
online. These games apart, you can put together many other games at a moment’s
notice for kids of various ages.
It is Time to Count
You can get young kids busy with this simple game of
counting and sorting. You need ten see-through jars with lids. Cut out numbers
from 1 to 10 on construction paper and tape them on the lids of the jars. You
will need around 60 pom poms. You can also use big buttons or make cotton
balls. Pile them up and ask your kid to add the relevant number of pom poms
into the jars. That is, one pom pom goes in to the jar labeled as one, two pom
poms in the jar labeled two, and so on. You can set up a timer and ask them to
finish before the time is up.
DIY Board Game
You will need card stock for this game. Any large sheet of paper
will also do. Draw square grids. Mark the first square as ‘Start’ and the last
as ‘Finish’. Fill the first box and the second box with numbers, and the third
box with a math operation like addition, subtraction or multiplication. Write
out the answers to the math challenges on an index card. For example, box one
has 3, box two has 4, box 3 has the first challenge, which is to multiply the
last two numbers. The index card for the first challenge should show 3 x 4 =
12. Once kids pass this challenge they can move their game piece (this can be a
small toy) to the next few squares for the next challenge until they reach the
finish.
Bring on the Cards
This is one of the easiest and most enjoyable ways to teach
numbers to kids. You can get them to learn how to compare numbers with the War
card game. Divide a pack of regular playing cards in two sets, which have to be
kept face down. Now taking turns, kids have to place a card face up until there
is a tie. To break the tie, each kid has to place three cards out front, face
down, and the fourth card face up. The one with the highest card gets to
collect all the eight cards. The winner of the game will be the one who
collects all the cards.
Another fun math game
with cards is where each player draws out the top three cards from their sets.
They need to use different math operations to come up with the highest number.
The player with the highest number wins the round and takes all the six cards
that are laid out. Again, in this game, the player who takes all the cards
wins.
These are but a few simple games that can be played indoors.
They will keep kids busy and will help drive home a few math concepts!
