Kindergarten Math Games: Helping Children With Math Anxiety

Kindergarten Math games are a good way to start in helping kids love math. Introducing fun math activities in school and at home can result to a much better understanding of Math.

Math is important in nurturing a child’s education. Interactive games provide teachers and parent the support they need. It enhances mathematical development and curiosity. Teachers use different materials and references in planning certain activities for classrooms. This is to make math more interesting.

Since children’s ideas are firmly based on their everyday activities and experiences, it best to adapt playing while gaining knowledge. Here are some tips to consider:

Learning Math in school

Kindergarten classrooms use the manipulative method. It is anything handed for counting will help a child to learn math concepts. This includes concrete things like puzzles, cubes, blocks and clocks.

Children are very active and they want to learn new things. Pictures grasp the attention of children. Flashcards are best options for number recognition, while puzzles help children to find out mathematical strategies. Thus, playing addition games are more exciting. It heats up group competition.

Other game samples are:

? Triangle Number Game- Adding number and connects the answer to the side that matches it.

? Snail One Hundred game - Learning number structure from 1 to 100.

? Highs and Lows - A Place Value Activity

Learning Math outside

Outside games will utilize the children’s energy while learning. Do-the-Math Hopscotch is one of the outdoor educational games inspired by the book Game On by Patt Doyle. This game resembles a chalk drawing of a calculator. A player will toss a stone to a number and hops on to form an equation. One foot hops to zeros and odd numbers and 2 footed hops to even numbers and symbols. A player will continuously play until he makes a mistake or finished all the numbers to 9.

Math Games at Home

Parents should encourage kids to play along with numbers using simple materials and preparation. One can make board games using dice and pieces of cardboard with creativity. There are also ready made educational cards for those busy parents. Go Fish Cards is one example that has become popular for math reviews. It enables kids to easily identify numbers and understand the difference between more or less. The use of dominoes, chess, checkers and Yahtzee will also deepen a child’s logical ability.

Other game samples are:

? Math Bingo- A Bingo classic game of mathematical approach.

? Popsicle Stick Game - Focuses on child’s counting ability.

? Two-Fisted Pennies Game -Identifies left and right positions and addition of numbers.

Math Games Online

Online learning has become the most rapid and common tool for young students. Internet math games help kids practice more and excel in math. It also reinforces math skills and concepts. Many free online games offers visual and hands-on activities such as:

1. Number recognition

2. Counting practices

3. Addition/Subtraction games

Below are popular math games on line.

? The Frog Puzzle

? Mathematical Matches

? Interactive 100 Square Chart

? Flash Algebra

? Tessellations

Number Puzzles online are:

? Crossnumber- Adding five digits numbers to find the clue.

? Color Quiz- Answering addition questions by coloring pictures.

? Number Cruncher - A mathematical arcade game that uses arrows to eat numbers of a given multiple.

? Shade - Shading the correct number to get an equal fraction.

? Table Times - It is a simple multiplication quiz game.

Math games can be effective when linked with standard teachings. It plays a vital part in stimulating interactions. A child’s interest must be supported by teachers and parents. Thus, games are math helpers only. It is much better to attend school and study homework that can beat up the Math anxiety.

Preparing Your Child For Kindergarten

As your child approaches school age, you may be wondering if he has the necessary skills to pass his kindergarten screening. There are several things that you can do to prepare your child to enter the school environment.

To interest your child in reading, you should read aloud to them often. This activity will help your child to understand that the printed words represent the spoken words. By asking the child questions about the story, you can help to build up his comprehension skills. You can also teach him words that rhyme and show him how many of these word’s spellings are similar. As you are reading to him, you should point out unknown words and explain their meanings to build up his vocabulary.

You can take your child to the library to read. Many of these institutions have programs especially designed for preschoolers. They often have story times, puppet shows, and other activities geared to encourage a love for reading in these youngsters. These excursions are also the perfect opportunity for your child to become familiar with the layout of the building itself so that as he gets older, he will feel comfortable going there to check out books and do research for school on his own.

You should also print your child’s name often so that he can begin learning how it looks in print and how to spell it. You can also use the letters in your child’s name to help him to associate certain letters with certain sounds. You can take the individual letters of your child’s names and help him finds words that have the same letters in them. This is also a good time for your child to start to practice writing his name.

To help your child prepare for kindergarten math, you should make sure that he is familiar with shapes and colors. He should also have the ability to at least count to ten (preferably twenty). You can practice his shapes with him by drawing or finding objects for each shape and have your child identify them. You can help your child with his counting skills by using various items, placing them in a group, and have him count the total number. You can also practice his problem-solving skills by adding and taking shapes away from the group and having him recount the new total. This will establish a foundation for addition and subtraction. You can play board games with him that requires your child to roll a pair of dice and move a certain amount of spaces. This is good counting practice and a chance to spend some quality time with him as well.

Many children need to develop their fine motor skills when preparing to enter school. You can build these skills by having your child practice cutting straight and wavy lines with child scissors. You can also encourage him to draw pictures with little details in them. Stringing beads on a piece of thread is another way to build up your child’s coordination.

If you practice all the skills that he will need to start kindergarten, your child should pass his kindergarten tests with flying colors.

Counting Activities Around Your Household

Counting is the fundamental concept in math and children are often eager to learn this vital activity. Educational studies have confirmed the fact that when young children grasp the idea of counting, they are quicker to absorb and develop other math skills later in school. The reason behind this is because their brains are being trained to ‘think’ in number values and this paves the way for future learning.

Preschoolers as young as 2 can be easily taught number recognition and counting in a relaxed and fun atmosphere at home. Parents can begin by gradually introducing the idea of numbers in relevant and everyday activities. From the kitchen to the backyard, numbers and their values can be made very real to a young child.

Elementary counting skills can start in the kitchen. Invite the child to help you set the table for dinner. How many people are in the family? How many plates, glasses, forks and knives are needed? Depending on the physical skill level of the child, allow him or her to select the utensils or fold the correct number of napkins.

Snack time can also become a learning experience. Open a package of gummi snacks and count them. Allow the child to put them in groups according to color. How many are in each group? How many are left in each group after he eats one?

Foster a child’s interest in cooking by watching you bake a cake. Math concepts are in every recipe. Count the number of ingredients out loud. How many cups of milk? How many eggs do you need?

Step into the living room and count ordinary things, like the number of chairs or the photos hanging on the wall. When the mail is delivered, count the number of letters. Draw the child’s attention to the numbers used in addressing a letter, from the house number to the zip code. In this way, the child begins to understand the absolute necessity of using numbers in everyday ways.

The backyard has endless possibilities for fun counting activities. Count the number of birds at the feeder. Or the squirrels that race up the tree. Play a game of Simon Sez with a number focus. For instance, ask the children to hop three times or pat their head two times. Use a jump rope and a few musical jingles to reinforce counting. Have the child jump over the rope a certain number of times, while singing the numbers. Check the Internet for a wide assortment of jump rope counting songs that are silly but serious about teaching this important concept. Toss a ball back and forth and count to ten. Collect bits of nature, like rocks, twigs or leaves. Count them. Put them in piles. Show the child a single leaf or rock and what a pile of two or three or more looks like. This activity helps to fasten the value of numbers in their mind.

Take a walk around the block. How many white houses or blue one are in your neighborhood? How many cars passed you on the road? Was anyone walking their dog? How many people or dogs did you see?

Introducing a child to elementary counting principles is fun and will give them a solid head start for kindergarten. There are many opportunities to accomplish this and all it takes is some creativity and a conscious looking out for ways math is used in everyday life.

What are some good activities for kindergarten children?

Tomorrow, I will be babysitting 2 kindergarteners who will not be in school. One has pink eye and the other does not. I am looking for activity suggestions that will keep the 2 boys separate. (in order to avoid spreading the infection) There is only so much coloring they can do and I’m not willing to set them in front of the TV all day. I’ve thought of a few activities, but I need more ideas. (coloring/painting, leaf rubbings, exercise, reading)

One boy is a full head smaller than the other boy so anything physically competetive is out of the question. I would prefer them doing the same activities so there are fewer arguments. Also, with one child having an infection, I don’t want them touching food. Any other ideas? I have a ton of pony beads but I don’t know what to do with them. Maybe someone has some ideas about things you can make with pony beads?