Games to Teach Numbers

Numbers are all around us and games can help to teach number sense.

Numbers are some of the most important symbols that we encounter on a daily basis. Phone, price tags, clocks and signs are just a few of the locations where numbers can be found. Because numbers are such pertinent symbols, children should be able to identify them starting at a young age. An ideal way to promote number sense is with games, as games are engaging, entertaining and easy for children to relate to.

Hide-and-Seek

Play a game of number hide-and-seek, except in this game, the numbers are hiding, not the players. Print out a set of numbers on index cards. Show the cards to children and ask them to identify each number. Inform players that you are going to hide the numbers and that it will be their job to find them. Ask children to cover their eyes while you hide the index cards. After hiding the cards, send children off to find them. Upon finding all of the cards, ask the children to gather in a meeting spot and arrange the cards in numerical order.

Numbers in Action

This game allows children to get up and move while promoting number sense. Ask children to stand up. On a chalk- or dry-erase board, print a number and state an action. Children must perform the action you have stated the number of times indicated by the number you have printed. For example, if you have written the number five and have said, "touch your toes," children must reach down and touch their toes five times.

Guess the Number

In this game, children act as detectives and try to determine the number that is printed on their backs from the clues they are given. Write numbers on pieces of paper. Randomly select a child, have him stand in front of the room and tape one of the numbers on his back. Children in the audience offer the player clues to help him determine the number that is hanging on his back. For instance, if the number six is hanging on his back, clues may include, "It begins with the letter 's,'" "It rhymes with 'sticks'" and "It's two numbers ahead of the number four."

Number Toss

In this number game, the first child to collect the most candies wins. On a large piece of poster board or butcher paper, print out a series of numbers that you wish to reinforce. Fill a bowl with small pieces of candies and provide each child with an empty bowl and a bean bag. One at a time, children toss their bean bags onto the poster board or butcher paper. Whatever number the bean bag lands on indicates the number of pieces of candies the player collects. Players place the candies in their empty bowls and continue playing. At the end of an allotted period of time, children count how many pieces of candy they have in their bowls. The child with the most candies wins the game, but all children really win, as they get to keep and eat their candy.

References

• Kids Games for Learning: Counting Games