Math Games and Other Fun Math Activities

What are games? Games are fun activities. However, there is what we call as learning games which enrich academic knowledge, teaches social activities and increase skills and knowledge by embedding these in fun activities. Math games are learning games and are created to help students master basic math skills like counting, sequencing and matching through fun activities. Math game should be designed to enhance math skills like enhancing addition, subtraction, multiplication or division skills. Children who take on the games do not notice that they are learning math but instead feel that everything is just a game. It is just like when you, as mothers, would grind vegetables and include them in your meat dishes so that your kids will be able to eat vegetables without them knowing it. There are elements that Math games should have for them to be considered as fun Math activities. - Math games should be playable and should be for everyone. Both kids and adults should be able to play them and should be able to provide new concepts and skills to its users or players. - It should have simple rules and can be used for both practice and skills assessment. Simple instructions are important so that kids will be able to easily understand them. The simpler and the shorter the rules, the better, so that kids will not lose interest even before the game has even started. - It should allow the players to be challenged and to develop strategies. The game should be able to allow its players room for developing a tactic or an approach to winning the game. Math games should make the players feel that their strategies are influencing the outcome of the game so that they will continue on playing. The games should also allow the players to be challenged so that they will be up to it. Challenging games make kids look for other solutions or ways to win the game and this enhances not only their motivation skills but also their problem solving skills. - It should give the players the feeling that they have a chance to win. In any game the expected end result is to win and even in Math games that are used for learning and enhancing Math skills the players should feel that they have a chance to win. Kids may have different skill levels or abilities yet every one of them would like to feel that they have a chance to win and if they do they will play the game well digging into the knowledge and skills that they already have. In the classroom, using these Math games will help students to focus and develop their skills because of the time they can spend practicing through these games. Not only are the kids taught Math skills through these games but also enhancement of their social skills because they can interact with other players rather than letting them play with video games. It goes without saying that it is through Math games that we will be able to reach out to our child/children by making available to them the three E's: Enjoyable, Encouraging and Enticing Math activities. These activities will in turn provide them with skills that will and can last more than their lifetime.