10 Fun Math Activities Your Kids Will Love

The never-ending quest to keep your children entertained can be easier said than done. While it can be tempting for a parent to put on a television show or give their kids an iPad, there are better options out there. More specifically, there are plenty of fun and educational math activities for your child that are win-win solutions for everybody. Here are ten fun math activities that don’t take long to prepare and are sure to be a hit at home:

Oreo Fractions

One of the best ways to help children become interested in math is by using food. Understanding the basic concept fractions can be shown with Oreos. You can start simply by opening the cookie in half to reveal the icing, thereby demonstrating the concepts of 1/2, 1/4, and one whole.  The best part is eating them when the lesson is over!

Sticky Note Math Facts

If you want your kids to practice their math facts more often, you’ll have much more success incorporating a hands-on approach rather than having them write their math facts on a piece of paper. Try this by placing bigger sticky notes with answers on the wall or mirror and use smaller sticky notes for the problems they need to work out.

Outside Number Line

Time to bust out the sideway chalk and make a number line! This outdoor activity is an excellent way to incorporate skip-counting, multiples, and comparing numbers. Not only will your kids love it, but they’ll get some exercise as well. Another option is to play hopscotch with practice math facts written inside the squares.

Domino Operation Practice

There are so many fun math activities you can incorporate using dominos. To set up this activity, all you need is a set of dominoes and a small whiteboard for your child to write on. Here is how it works: pull a domino and write the accompanying facts for that number utilizing different operations. For instance, if the side of the domino has six dots on each side, the math facts would be 6×6=36, 6/6=1, 6-6=0, and 6+6=12. You can see all of the practice a whole set would provide!

Math Bingo Games

It’s hard to go wrong with this classic game. Not only is Bingo widely popular with kids, but it is easy to prepare. Make a list of 25 problems with the answers on the same page. You can make your math Bingo cards or generate them by searching online. You can have fun with this game, and change up the cards every time.

Deck of Cards 

The number of fun math activities that you can come up just using a deck of cards is limitless. The sense of competition will keep your kids interested while they practice. For example, if you have two children playing, they can each start by picking two cards at a time. They both then multiply the numbers together, and whoever has the higher product will keep all four cards. The same concept can apply for addition or subtraction.

Candy Graphing

A small bag of M&Ms or Skittles can present an excellent opportunity to practice graphing skills. For younger-aged children, they can make a graph based on colors. If you used smaller individual-sized bags, your kids can see how the charts differ with each one.

Legos For Area and Perimeter

Kids may have a hard time differentiating between the concepts of area and perimeter. Using legos can be the solution. You can create questions and have your kids build a model with legos that shows the corresponding answer. For example, you can ask them to make a model of a field that has an area of 12 square units and they can demonstrate with legos.

Scavenger Hunt For Shapes

A good way for children to remember shapes is to see shapes used in real-world applications. You can give kids a sheet with a circle, a rectangle, and a triangle. Every time they see an object that resembles each shape, they can trace it for more practice.

Paper Plate Clocks

Many kids don’t have as much exposure to analog clocks in a digitized world. Making an analog clock at home with a few simple materials can help them learn the concept of telling time. All you’ll need is some construction paper, a paper fastener, and some foam numbers to help your kids see the digits more easily. Children will also take more ownership of the activity if they make the clock themselves.

Math doesn’t have to be feared by your children. Here at The Pillars Christian Learning Center, we believe learning should be engaging, relevant, and fun for learners of all ages! Find out more about us today.