Fun Math Games for Kindergarteners

How Can I Help My Kindergartner Practice Math at Home?

In kindergarten, students often solve addition and subtraction problems by using visuals like counters and drawings. With visuals, students are able to physically group items together to figure out when happens when numbers are combined or retracted. At home, help your child practice by counting as many things as you can, from the number of stairs leading to your second floor to the number of forks in your kitchen drawer. Repetition will help solidify the material.

Practical skills learned in kindergarten include determination in problem solving. At home, encourage your child to follow through even when he or she is frustrated by a problem; at the same time, teach your child to cope with his or her frustration by taking a break or looking at the situation from another perspective.

Math Games

A fun way to practice math at home is to play games. To increase your child's motivation, consider playing with him or her.

Counting Practice

Have your child count anything and everything, from animals at the zoo to pieces of candy. The more interested your child is in the subject he or she is counting, the more motivated he or she will be to interact with the subject. For instance, if your child really likes elephants, it may not even feel like schoolwork to practice counting how many ears there are.

Real-life Shapes

There are an endless number of 2-dimensional shapes that can be seen in real life, from rectangular windows to the circular moon. Have your child identify these shapes to become more familiar with elementary geometry. For a challenge, you might ask your child what shape a tree is. This will encourage your child to use out-of-the-box, creative thinking skills.

Order of Objects

In kindergarten, students also learn to categorize objects by their measurable characteristics, such as length, width and height. Turn clean-up time into a game by having your child categorize his or her toys before putting them away. Get involved yourself, and try turning it into a race.

Connect the Dots

Kindergartners learn to count from one to 100. You can help familiarize your child with the order of numbers by creating a connect-the-dots picture for him or her to complete.