Math games for babies
Games For Babies That Build Math Skills
Acquiring math skills is an important part of any child’s mental development. Being good, or at least skillful, in math is necessary to thrive in modern times. Budgeting one’s income, comparing price per pound in the supermarket, or reading recipes involve thinking in numbers. Also, careers that are in high demand like engineering, high technology and finance require above average math skills.
It is a great idea to fire up the neurons that build math skills early in life. For toddlers and older kids, there are many ways to make math fun, but do you know that there are ways to play with your baby that, according to experts, build his brain for math?
Here are some games that you can play with your baby that actually help build the foundation for his math skills:
1. Peek-a-boo
This is played by covering your face with your hands and then taking them away. This teaches your baby that even though she can’t see your face, you are still there. Peek-a-boo also teaches the concept of object permanence. According to Piaget, this makes babies become more observant and notice similarities and differences between objects. This experience leads to more advanced math concept such as sorting and classifying. This simple game also teaches your baby the complex set of rules about turn-taking and expectations.
2. Patty-cake
This is a hand-clapping game where you and your baby alternate between a normal individual clap with 2-handed claps. This simple sequence of clapping teaches your baby about the mathematical concept called patterns. It is the first step to understand that the world works in logical and predictable ways. Experiences with observing and making sense of patterns help your child become a logical thinker.
3. Music and rhythms
Games with your baby that involve music teaches him mathematical concepts. You can play a musical game that involves rhymes with your baby.
Give your baby a wooden spoon or a rhythm stick. You should have a stick too. Sing a song such as “The Wheels of the Bus” and tap the sticks to the beat of the song. Encourage your baby to tap his sticks too. Sing the same song faster, and tap your sticks faster, then slower and tap your sticks slowly. Your baby will understand the concept of fast and slow, as well as develop in his brain the concept of pattern.
4. Dropping Toys and Picking up
Babies love to drop things. You can take advantage of this behavior by playing pick-up with him. Let your baby drop a toy from his high chair. Put it back. Chances are baby will knock them off again. This teaches your baby the concept of sequencing. Sequencing is the organization and order of successive events and experiences. Recognizing sequences help children develop a sense of order, logic and reason. Your baby will enjoy this sequence of events because the predictability of your action is enjoyable.
5.
Pop-up play
Pop-up play is played with toys that have characters bursting out of a hatch when a button is pushed. It build’s your baby’s fine motor skills. Also, this is another way of teaching your baby object permanence.
6. Wooden Puzzle Jigsaw Pieces
Introduce your baby to the simple, basic easy-to-do puzzle with one-piece or two piece wooden puzzles with knobs. Talk to your baby as he tries to pt the puzzle pieces in the puzzle. If necessary, help him to put the puzzle together. This game also teaches your child spatial relationship skills.
7. Sorting Toys
Playing with your baby with toys that you sort by color, shape, size or thickness teaches him classifying skills. Classifying introduces the mind to the mathematical concept of sets. Classification schemes are also important for your baby to learn early as they are central to scientific thinking.
8. Creating towers
Babies love to place one object on top of another.
Play with your baby by building towers made of large blocks, boxes, plastic bowls, bowls and other materials. What’s even more fun is when she knocks down the tower. This teaches her spatial relationships, as well as differences in sizes and shapes.
9. Stacking rings
Stacking rings are good, old-fashioned simple toys that babies enjoy playing. It consists of a tube and rings of different sizes that a baby can insert in the tube in any order. Play with your baby by stacking rings from large to small or from small to large. This teaches your baby the concept of seriation. It is a mathematical concept that involves organizing or ordering things in a logical way.
10. Tunnel time
Babies love to crawl through small spaces, and in the process learn both spatial and body awareness. Providing them with toy tunnels or space fort that they can crawl through teaches them these, as well as the mathematical concept of spatial relationships.
This leads to them understanding more advanced concepts to follow involving directionality, position in space, and depth perception.
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Baby & Toddler Math Activities
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Looking for toddler math activities? Here are some playful ways to make math fun from the very beginning.
(This post contains affiliate links.)
So. Are you a math person?
Did you sign up for the all the hard math courses and delight in the challenge?
Maybe math was hard for you, but you struggled through it to get the grades you wanted.
Or perhaps you avoided any math course beyond the minimum requirements. Even today, you hear yourself saying, “I’ve never been good at math.
I’m just not a math person.”
Have you ever said this to your child? “I’ve never been much of a book person. I’m just not a reader.” I’m willing to bet you go out of your way to read to your child and to promote a love of books in your home.
Well, guess what? We should be doing the same thing with math. And it starts when they’re babies.
10 ways to make math fun for babies and toddlers
The good news? Babies and toddlers already love math. You only need to fuel that enthusiasm. My biggest tip? Notice and celebrate math wherever you find it. Here are ten ways to do just that!
1. Count. A lot. Are you dressing your baby? “One arm, two arms!” Are you walking up the stairs with your toddler? “Let’s count the steps! One… two… three….” Count how many grapes she has, how many fingers are on her hand, or how many keys are on the ring. When you point to each object as you count, you teach your child one-to-one correspondence.
One day she’ll learn to assign numbers to objects as she counts, too.
2. Build with blocks. Your baby might enjoy watching you make a tower. Soon he’ll be knocking it over, and eventually he’ll start to put one block on top of the other all by himself.
3. Arrange things in a logical way. Make worms out of play dough and put them in order from largest to smallest as your child watches. Help her put stacking blocks on top of one another.
4. Build an understanding of spatial relationships. Help your child be aware of herself and her environment by letting her crawl through play tunnels, sit in a child-sized tent, climb up the toddler slide, or play in a big box.
5. Sort toys. Separate the animals from the toy cars. Put the stuffed animals in this bin, and the lacing toys in this one. Or sort by color. Before your child can actually name the colors, he may be able to sort same colored objects into groups.
6. Compare things. Who has the bigger plate, you or Mommy? Which of your strawberries is bigger?
7. Play with patterns. Isn’t it funny how the simple game of peekaboo has babies in stitches? It’s actually an introduction to patterns. When you play patty cake and other action rhymes, your child can play with patterns even more. You might also try to find patterns your child can feel, like the design of the texture on the couch or carpet.
8. Sing. There are countless nursery rhymes and songs for babies, many of which focus on numbers. “1, 2, buckle my shoe.” Or “Six little ducks went out one day…” Print my free little letter books of rhymes and songs and sing them together. Soon your child will be singing them by himself!
9. Explore volume. We eat a lot of yogurt at our house, so the bathtub always has a few containers for pouring. On a warm day, give your child some water toys to play with in the water table or wading pool.
By simply filling the containers and pouring them, your child is learning a lot about math!
10. Read. Above all, read and read some more. Not sure what baby and toddler math books to find at your library? What Do We Do All Day has you covered!
Learn how to make math fun at all different age levels! Just click on an age range below.
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Math games for preschoolers and first graders
The development of a child's mathematical abilities is one of the aspects of preparing for school.
It can be difficult for a preschooler to operate with numbers, so experts advise starting a child’s acquaintance with numbers and mathematical calculations from games. Complex and sometimes boring examples and tasks do not cause rejection in the baby when they are presented in the form of interesting colorful tasks.
If a child understands at an early age that mathematics is exciting and fun, it will be much easier for him to master the school subject. By the way, mathematical games develop not only the skills of working with numbers, but also logic and non-standard thinking. What are the mathematical games for preschoolers - in our material.
Math games for children 4-5 years old
Math games for preschoolers 4-5 years old include simple math examples for addition and subtraction within 10.
1. Math game "Labyrinth"
In this math game the child is faced with the task of seeing the pattern, going through the maze and helping the squirrel find the acorn.
Print the picture. Give the child a pencil. Let him draw a path along which the squirrel can get to the acorn.
The squirrel has started its journey. She took two steps. What is the difference between 3 and 1? How much more is it? And the number 5 compared to 3? It is desirable that the child himself see the pattern (adding 2 to each previous number). But if it doesn’t work out, don’t worry — explain. Calculate the next step together, and then let the baby go on his own.
2. Math crossword
If a child can count to 10, they may be interested in doing a math crossword.
Print out the crossword. Tell your child how to work with a mathematical crossword puzzle, how the numbers fit into it. You can explain such concepts as "horizontal" and "vertical".
Explain that each row and column must have correct equalities. Emphasize that a mathematical crossword puzzle differs from the usual example in that an unknown number can appear anywhere in it.
Show that in a crossword it is better to solve the examples not in an arbitrary sequence, but by moving from one intersection to another. And it is very important to do everything right, because a mistake in one place will lead to inaccuracies in another.
3. Mathematical game "Count the beads"
As in other examples, the picture can be printed.
There are two different tasks here.
On the left picture there are beads that you need to count and write the answers below, as shown in the first picture. Do not give the child the task right away - invite him to think about what the numbers below (in the first picture) mean. Perhaps he himself will find a correspondence between the number of beads and the number below. In this case, he will easily enter all the correct answers.
On the second, right, block of pictures, the number of beads is the same everywhere, and the number of filled beads is signed below. The kid can also guess about this on his own.
After that, he will gladly color the required number of beads in each picture.
With this activity you can explain to your child what an abacus is and how to use it.
4. Mathematical game “Take the bear to the bear cub”
Examples are written on the ice. In this game, the child must complete each task and write the answer on the ice. After that, you can pave the way of the bear to the bear cub along the ice, on which the numbers 1, 2, 3 are written, and then in order up to 10.
Math games for preschoolers 6-7 years old
Math games for children 6-7 years old are a bit more difficult and suitable for kids who can count to at least 20 and solve addition and subtraction problems in two steps.
1. Mathematical game "Insert the missing number"
The meaning of this mathematical game is to insert numbers into empty cells that come in sequence before, between or after a given number.
Thus, the child's idea of the "number line" is formed.
For convenience, you can first draw this line, on which numbers are indicated from left to right, increasing each time by one. Then the baby will understand what “before”, “between” and “after” means, and will easily do all the exercises.
2. Mathematical game “Put fruits in baskets”
Print the picture, cut out all fruits and baskets separately. The kid must solve a mathematical example that is written on a fruit and "put" it in the correct basket.
These examples show the child that the same number can be obtained in several ways.
Note that the example does not show the same number of ways to get different numbers. So, 7 is obtained by five options: 4 + 3; 7 - 0; 1+6; 2+5; 14 - 7. And 18 - three: 9 + 9; 20 - 2; 12 + 6.
Explain that there are other ways to get the number 18. Give an example or have the child come up with their own.
3. Mathematical game "Find a suitable umbrella"
In this math game, you need to match an umbrella to each cloud.
To do this, the child must solve the examples written inside the cloud and the umbrella, and then place the cloud over the desired umbrella.
In this task, you can not cut anything, but simply connect pictures with the same answer. Each cloud corresponds to one umbrella.
Math games for 1st grade
Math games for schoolchildren are suitable for children who can count up to 30, complete examples in several actions and have a basic understanding of fractions.
1. A chain of mathematical examples
On the path of the butterfly to the flower, do all the suggested actions. Some of the numbers are already in circles, others must be entered by solving the examples given above.
This math task is not for the little ones: here you need to be able to count to at least 30.
2. Math game "How much does a salad cost?"
The picture shows vegetables and their "value". Below are plates with a different set of vegetables.
Invite the child to calculate how much each salad “costs”.
3. What is the fraction in the picture?
Pictures will help explain to your child what fractions are.
The images show circles divided into equal parts. Some of them are painted over. First you need to calculate how many parts there are. Next - how many of them are painted over.
The essence of a fractional number is easy to explain in this way.
For the first example: the circle is divided into 4 parts; three out of four are shaded, i.e. three-fourths. This is referred to as 3/4.
Second example (below): there are 6 beats in the circle, four of the six are shaded - four sixths, 4/6.
Such an algorithm will allow the child to choose from the options presented the answer corresponding to each circle. To check how the kid understood the material, ask him to show an integer (not a fractional) number on one of the circles, painting over the required number of parts.
He will cope with the task if he figured out how a fractional number is formed and how a fraction differs from a whole.
Umnasia offers a large number of mathematical problems for logic and ingenuity for primary and secondary school students. All tasks are presented in the format of an interactive story game with pleasant voice acting and colorful illustrations:
- logic tasks for grade 1
- logic tasks for grade 2
- logic tasks for grade 3
- logic tasks for grade 4
- logic tasks for grade 5
Mathematics and logic for children 7-13 years old
We develop logical thinking through solving plot mathematical problems in an interactive game format
learn more
Math games for children from 4 to 6 years old
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- For children from 4 to 6 years old
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Math games are designed for children from 4 to 6 years old to prepare a preschooler for the first mathematical knowledge and the ability to count.
Here you will find interesting colorful games in which the child will need to find and count the specified number of objects or living beings. Children of this age really like to count, especially in a playful way.
Math games online - this is the best way to instill in your child a love of mathematics. Indeed, in the form of a game, children receive any knowledge more easily, freely and with interest. The game "Find the smallest number" is designed for children from 4 years old. You need to choose the smallest number out of five...
The math game "Find the biggest number" is designed for children aged 4 and over. In this game, the child must choose the largest number out of five. The circle with the largest number must be dragged onto the square with the question mark...
Educational online math game "Put it in the basket" is made for children from 4 years old. The game is based on the child's ability to distinguish between the taste and tactile properties of objects.
For example, salty, bitter, sweet, sour, soft, hard. There are 10 tasks in the game...
New Year's game for kids "Examples up to 10" is a great opportunity to make a little fidget solve examples. It is necessary to choose only those stars in the starry New Year's sky, the numbers on which are the solution of the examples presented ...
The math game "Find the numbers" is one of the favorite games of all children. Here you must find all the letters hidden in the room. To do this, you are given a magnifying glass that will enlarge any corner of the room to which you direct it. But don't forget, you can't press the same number 2 times - you will lose all points!
The math game "Let's learn numbers from 1 to 10" is designed for children from 2 to 5 years old. Have a child sit next to you and ask him to solve these tasks. The game is more difficult because the numbers in the circles are arranged randomly, and not in order.
Educational online math game "Learn numbers from 1 to 10" is designed for children from 2 to 5 years old.
