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Saturday, August 7, 2010

Learning Math Through Playing Games

My kids love to play Monopoly. Me--not so much. Why? Because it takes soooo looooong  to play one game of it!

However, I have learned that by playing Monopoly, they are learning math skills. Sometimes, it is better to teach a lesson when it can be fun and interactive. Skills that can be taught when playing games are:
  • counting~how many spaces do you have to move? Count them out loud.
  • estimation~how many inches do you think you will move?
  • logic~if I move there, what will happen? How can I move to make sure I stay in the game?
  • counting back change~That property is $320. If I gave you $500, how much will I get back?
  • multiplication~I landed on that property and now I have to pay you 5% of whatever rolls on the dice. How much will that be?
As you can see, there are great ways to teach math just by playing games! My idea is to loosen up a bit in math this year and find more fun ways to learn.

Do you have any particular games you like to use to teach with?

8 comments:

Kela said...

We do! We use (different subjects) Yahtzee, Scrabble, Phase 10 dice, Bunco, Boggle, Dominoes, Scattergories (critical thinking), and Hink Pink. Monopoly is at the top of my hubby's list. I refuse to play it. LOL
There are SOOO many more games that I'd love for us to have.

Kimberly Walker said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting... I am now following yours and looking forward to reading more of your stuff.
All the best,
Kim

Kimberly Walker said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting... I am now following yours and looking forward to reading more of your stuff.
All the best,
Kim

~Mo~ said...

I'm following you from Surfin Saturday!

Christina Chitwood said...

Great post. I loved learning with games while growing up. I loved playing chess and math dice with my dad, as well as monopoly and Scotland Yard. Visiting from FFF. Have a great weekend!
http://ChristinaChitwoodPerformance.com

Angela said...

Great idea! I'll have to keep that in mind when my little one is older. Thanks for following Mommy Time Out! Following back.

Cinda said...

Thanks for dropping by my blog. I'm now a follower.
I must get the kids to play monopoly again.

Cranberry Morning said...

How fun for me to see this post! During our 21 years of homeschooling, I always taught the first two grades using math and reading games. Worked great! :-)

Thanks for visiting Cranberry Morning and leaving a comment!