5 Minute Math Games For Parents to Prevent the Summer Slide for Kindergarten and First Grade!
- Lara
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
Parents, are you looking to help your kids avoid the dreaded summer slide? In 5 minutes or less a day, you can help your kids maintain the skills they learned in Kindergarten and help them be ready for first grade with games like these!
These games require few, if any, materials! You can get dice, playing cards, and fun things to count at your local dollar store or on Amazon!
You can get these game ideas and more in this Math Game Activity Book!
Here are 5 math games to help your child with counting, addition, subtraction, and number sense that you can do with minimal materials in 5 minutes or less.
In addition to working on math skills, playing games and having conversations about math are invaluable tools you can use as a parent or teacher to support your children or students.
Roll and Build or Pick and Build: Counting Game
This game is perfect for practicing number recognition, one-to-one correspondence, and number value!
Materials: Dice or playing cards, something to use to count, optional 10-frame
Instructions:
Pick a card and write down the number you picked. Player 2 repeats.
Player 1 picks another card and adds both cards together. Player 2 repeats.
Player 1 picks another card and adds the value of the card they picked to the total they had in the last round. Player 2 repeats.
Continue until one player reaches 100!
Who has more? Who has less?
Who has more, or who has less, are two versions of the same game. This game helps strengthen number sense but thinking about the value of numbers and their relationship to each other.
Materials: Dice or playing cards
Instructions:
Player 1 rolls two dice or picks a card—Player 2 repeats.
Compare the numbers; the player with more, or the highest number, gets the point.
If you are playing who has less, the player with less, or the lowest number gets the point.
Continue until one player gets 10 points or as long as you’d like!
Heads or Tails: Decomposing Numbers to 10
This game supports learning fact families to 10 and numbers that make 10.
Materials: 10 pennies, something to write with
Instructions:
Collect 10 pennies, shake them, and drop them.
Count the coins that landed on heads and the ones that landed on tails.
Write down how many of each you have.
Continue for 10 turns or as long as you’d like
You can start with smaller numbers like 5 or 6 to develop fact fluency within 10.
I Spy Numbers
Materials: Playing cards
Arrange the cards face up in 5 rows of 5.
Player 1 says, “I spy,” and describes the value of the card. (Eg. I spy a card that is the sum of 4 + 4, or I spy a card that is less than 5 but greater than 3)
Once the second player has guessed, it is their turn to give clues.
Continue until the board is cleared!
Race to 100: Addition Within 100
This game focuses on adding numbers up to 100!
Materials:
Playing cards, something to write with
Instructions:
Pick a card and write down the number you picked. Player 2 repeats.
Player 1 picks another card and adds both cards together. Player 2 repeats.
Player 1 picks another card and adds the value of the card they picked to the total they had in the last round. Player 2 repeats.
Continue until one player reaches 100!
Race to 0: Subtraction Within 100
This game focuses on subtracting numbers starting from 100!
Materials:
Playing cards, something to write with
Start with 100, where you will keep track.
Pick a card and write down the number you picked, and subtract it from 100. Player 2 repeats.
Continue to pick and subtract cards until one player reaches 0!
If you’d like more ideas to cover every Kindergarten topic, you can get the full collection of math games here!
Inside, you’ll get 36+ games, progress trackers, rating scales, and more! This collection of math activities is perfect to combat the summer slide for rising first graders and support their learning in school!
Get some Free Games and Practice Pages here!
Comments