- This is a very effective game for encouraging children to memorize basic addition and subtraction facts. The teacher can divide the students into pairs and give each pair a deck of cards. For each student pair, the cards should be divided evenly between the two students. The game is played by each student turning over a card and adding the two cards together. To make it more difficult, the students can subtract the two cards instead, first determining the card with the greatest value. Using face cards the value of 10 make the calculations easier. The first student to shout out the correct answer wins a point, and the first student to reach 20 points wins the game. Alternately, the person who gets the correct answer first gets the two cards, and when the deck is exhausted, the person with the most cards wins. To play this with your child, give him or her a head start by allowing five or 10 seconds before you say the answer, depending on your child's skill level.
- In this game, flashcards are used to encourage memorization of basic addition and subtraction facts. While the students are sitting at their desks, have the first student in a row stand behind the second student. When they are both ready, show them the first flashcard. The student who answers correctly first gets to move onto stand behind the next student's desk. The losing student must sit down in the vacant chair. The game continues in this way until everyone in the class has had a chance to compete. The student who has won the most seats is the winner. While this game is not playable with one child at home, it is a good idea to keep a set of flashcards at home and use them to review math skills. For example, the parents can put in practice time with their kids on a long car ride, before dinner each night, or even during commercials while watching a favorite television show.
- For some reason, the ability to estimate well, especially when it pertains to numerical amounts or time segments, is difficult for many children. To work on developing this skill, children can benefit from warm-up math activities each day by playing an estimation game. Place some items in a jar and ask them to estimate how many items there are (record their guesses on a clipboard). Then count the items together by 5s or 10s. Alternately, ask the students to estimate how long it will take for a task to be completed. For example, the students could estimate how long it will take for you to do 10 jumping jacks or for the principal to untie and tie his shoes (this is a great game for when your principal visits the classroom). After two or three weeks of daily practice, you should see your students' (or your child's) estimation skills improve dramatically.
