{"id":7437,"date":"2021-09-29T18:04:48","date_gmt":"2021-09-29T18:04:48","guid":{"rendered":"\/blogs\/?p=7437"},"modified":"2021-09-29T18:04:48","modified_gmt":"2021-09-29T18:04:48","slug":"make-counting-fun-from-day-one-with-kindergarten-math-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/blogs\/make-counting-fun-from-day-one-with-kindergarten-math-games.html","title":{"rendered":"Make Counting Fun From Day One With Kindergarten Math Games"},"content":{"rendered":"

Who doesn\u2019t love a good game?\u00a0 Kindergarteners find a way to play games everywhere, so look for those opportunities to throw in a little extra math practice.\u00a0 Whether it\u2019s counting as you climb stairs or having them count out and sort candies in a bag, there are math games to be had all around you if you train yourself to look for them.\u00a0 Basic skills should be the name of the game, so look for any games that will reinforce these needs and build a strong mathematical foundation.<\/span><\/p>\n

What Math Games Can We Play at Home?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Shape & Color Hunt<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Learning shapes and colors begins the mathematical journey of most kids, so reinforcing those early will begin to build their foundation.\u00a0 Practice colors first by simply pointing things out everywhere you go, and then start to pair it with other words – \u201cLook at the red ball.\u00a0 See the blue sky.\u201d\u00a0 Then, reinforce shapes the same way, eventually switching to an \u201cI Spy\u201d Game or having them look exclusively for one shape.\u00a0 Then, you can move to \u201cI Spy a yellow square, or have them go around and find as many rectangles as they can.\u00a0 You can build on this game in a number of ways as they increase in confidence.<\/span><\/p>\n

Counting & Skip Counting<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Twos, Fives, and Tens are the name of the game once kindergarteners master basic counting.\u00a0 Begin with 10s, and use your Hundred Number Chart to show them how it moves down.\u00a0 You can incorporate groups of tens to represent ten, and use manipulatives as well, like base ten blocks.\u00a0 Eventually you will be able to move to where you count by tens from 2 (2, 12, 22\u2026).\u00a0 Counting by fives is another skill to master, and then moving onto the difference between even and odds (color your Hundred Number Chart) and then counting by 2s in evens or odds, both up and down the number line can be mastered.\u00a0 Make it a game everywhere you go – up and down the stairs, walking from here to there, counting grapes or snacks…wherever you see the opportunity.<\/span><\/p>\n

Number Identification<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Hundred Number Chart is a great tool to use when beginning with number identification, and then moving into two-digit numbers and skip counting.\u00a0 A fun game is to remove or cover numbers from the Hundred Number Chart and see if they can tell you what\u2019s missing.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Store<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Who doesn\u2019t like to play with money?\u00a0 Begin with everything costing easier quantities – $1, $5, $10 – and have it match the number skills you\u2019re learning that day.\u00a0 Put price tags on various items and then add a $1 item to each purchase to practice your 1 tables, and so on.<\/span><\/p>\n

Time<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Days of the Week, Months of the Year, Dates, and the concept of o\u2019clock are all on the docket for kindergarteners.\u00a0 Keep a calendar at home and let your child have the job of adding to it each day, either by changing the numbers or crossing off the days.\u00a0 Let them add events to the calendar and countdown days until events happen.<\/span><\/p>\n

Making 10<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Play the rainbow number game, where you write the numbers across a sheet (repeating 5), and then connecting the numbers with rainbow colors.\u00a0 It\u2019s a fun drawing activity, but reinforces those pairs that make ten.<\/span><\/p>\n

Measurement<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Measuring with units or items is popular in kindergarten, so seeing how many blocks long something is or how many shoes it is becomes a super fun way to grasp the concept of measurement before you pull out a ruler.\u00a0 Some kids may grasp this early and beg to use a ruler, but this is another basic skill.\u00a0 Find fun things to measure with!<\/span><\/p>\n

What Online Math Games Are Best?<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"counting<\/p>\n

Basic Skills<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Look for online games that reinforce those basic skills in a fun way, like Turtle Diary\u2019s emphasis on colors, numbers, and shapes.\u00a0 You can<\/span> Color by Number<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Play with Shapes<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>Spot the Number<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 Even <\/span>Month of the Year<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Days of the Week<\/span><\/a> can help your kids master these skills with amazing graphics and fun sounds.<\/span><\/p>\n

Logic (Connect Four)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Any game that causes them to take a step further in their mind and really reason something out is a great way to increase logic.\u00a0 Look for<\/span> Connect 4,<\/span><\/a> Compose Shapes<\/span><\/a> (Tangrams), and <\/span>Math Bingo<\/span><\/a> for more advanced reasoning on Turtle Diary.<\/span><\/p>\n

Basic Addition<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When they\u2019ve mastered basic number identification and have a grasp on some number theory, introduce basic addition with games like<\/span> Color Addition<\/span><\/a> or <\/span>Zero Numbers<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 When they\u2019re ready for some more intense pressure and quick recall, try<\/span> Math Race<\/span><\/a>, where cars zoom across the screen as they answer facts.<\/span><\/p>\n

No matter what game you choose to play, Turtle Diary offers an amazingly fun way to reinforce basic foundational skills for kindergarteners.\u00a0 They will keep coming back again and again for fun, while you smile as they practice and master their kindergarten goals.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Who doesn\u2019t love a good game?\u00a0 Kindergarteners find a way to play games everywhere, so look for those opportunities to throw in a little extra math practice.\u00a0 Whether it\u2019s counting as you climb stairs or having them count out and sort candies in a bag, there are math games to be had all around you…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7440,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[288,287,89,88],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wp.turtlediary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/counting-games.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlediary.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7437"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlediary.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlediary.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlediary.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlediary.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7437"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlediary.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7437\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7441,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlediary.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7437\/revisions\/7441"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlediary.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlediary.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlediary.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlediary.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}