Math at Home
Kindergarten
Solve Everyday Problems!
Involve your child in using numbers to solve problems and make everyday decisions. You might ask the following:
“We need six tomatoes to make our sauce for dinner, and we have only two. How many more do we need to buy?”
“You have two pillows in your room and your sister has two pillows in her room. How many pillowcases do I need to wash?”
“Two guests are coming to eat dinner with us. How many plates will we need? How many utensils?”
More challenging situations might involve adding or subtracting larger numbers, or situations in which your child has to add or subtract more than once to solve the problem.
Go on a shape hunt. Look for different shapes in your house. What shapes do you see? Describe the shapes in as many different ways as you can.
Play a number version of I Spy. For example, “I spy something that has the number five on it,” or “I spy something in this room that there are three of".
Primary - Grades 1 to 3
Draw a picture using 2D shapes (e.g. squares, rectangles, triangles, hexagons). Talk about what shapes were used to make up the different parts of the picture and how many of each shape was used in the picture.
Make up games that involve adding and subtracting numbers by using number cubes (dice) and number cards. Have your child help you make four or more sets of number cards. Each card will have a number from one to ten on one side of it.
When cooking or baking, ask your child to help you discover what the measurements given in grams would be in kilograms (or the reverse).
Higher Number (game)
Shuffle or mix up the cards and then leave them face down in a pile. Each player takes two cards and adds the numbers. The player with the higher sum gets the other player’s cards. Players continue to take and add up two cards at a time until no cards are left. The player with more cards is the winner. You can play the same game with subtraction, but it would be called Lower Number. The player with the lower difference (answer) gives his or her cards to the other player. The person with the fewest cards at the end is the winner. You can play the same game with multiplication.
Number Cube Twice (game)
Each player rolls two number cubes and adds the numbers shown. The higher number wins. You can play the same game with subtraction and multiplication.
Math Before Bed - Math prompts to spark amazing math discussion.
Junior - Grades 4 to 6
Multiplication Salute (game)
3 players
deck of cards (Ace = 1, Jack = 11, Queen = 12, King = 13)
Players 1 and 2 each take a card and hold it facing out on their forehead so that the other two players can see the card, but they can’t.
Player 3 can see both cards. Player 3 multiplies the two cards. Player 1 and 2 use that information to determine their card.
Play rotates around the group with each person taking a turn multiplying the cards and stating the product.
Making 18 (game)
2+ players
3 dice
Rolling 3 dice, players get 19 chances to make numbers 1-18 using addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. The 19th chance is a freebie!
● Use Lego to build multiplication concepts. Scholastic
● Daily Math Puzzles and Problems - CEMC at Home
Intermediate - Grades 7 to 8
Five Dice (game)
1. First player rolls 5 dice
2. Use the numbers on the dice to create an equation (using addition, subtraction, multiplication and/or division) to get you as close to the target number as possible
3. Second player’s turn
4. Whichever player is closest to the target number gets the point for that round.
5. Play 5 rounds - the target numbers are:
Round 1 - 10
Round 2 - 50
Round 3 - 100
Round 4 - 500
Round 5 - 1000
Spiral Multiplication (game)
1. Use the deck of cards to make a spiral game board starting from the centre.
2. Place your game pieces in the centre of the spiral.
3. Player 1 rolls the die and moves that number of cards on the game board.
4. Player 1 then multiplies the number on the die by the card the game piece is on.
5. If they are correct, they stay where they are. If they are incorrect,
they must move back to their previous position.
6. Players take turns until someone reaches the last card.
7. If a player lands on a card with another player on it, they “bump” that player back to start.
CEMC at Home - Daily Math Puzzles and Problems
