DreamBox Learning®» math games for kids

Disney Math Games Make Long Lines Fun

Tracy — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:43:11 +0000

School is officially out: cue the much-anticipated family vacation. Inevitably, there will be at least a couple of DreamBox fans that pack up and take the kids to Disneyland or Disney World. And while Mickey and Minnie and the Pirates of the Caribbean ride make it all worth it, there is really no way to avoid the hot sun and the long lines.

Long line at Disneyland

If sweltering heat and interminable waits sound like they'll take the fun out of your vacation, plan ahead with fun Disney math games that will make endless lines seem like nothing.

Disney math games for a hassle-free (and educational) summer vacation

I spy shoes. Keep your eyes on the ground, and check out the footwear of everyone around you. Have your kids count tennis shoes versus flip flops, or white shoes versus black. How long does it take until someone sees green shoes? A great lesson in counting, categorizing, and fashion. Hidden Mickey roundup. "Hidden Mickies" are the designs, patterns and forms Disney "imagineers" (that's an engineer with an imagination) incorporate into the Disney parks. The three circles that make up Mickey's head (two small circles for ears, one larger circle for his head) are everywhere: in the wall paper, from a bird's eye view of the golf course, in the table settings, in the rides. Have your kids scope out these patterns, both big and small. How many Mickies can your kids see from the line? How many over the course of your vacation?

Spot this Hidden Mickey at the Haunted Mansion

Disney charades. This is a great game to play when you're wrangling more than one youngster in line. Have each child take turns acting out the Disney character you whisper in their ear while the other child times them for 30 seconds. Pump up the math learning by using an analog watch, as opposed to a digital timer. Count the flags. Disney World is one of the most international tourist attractions in the United States. While in line, count how many foreign flags you and your kids can see: either on T-shirts, stitched onto backpacks, or on key chains. Disney "cast members" (all the workers in the Disney parks are called cast members) wear name tags saying where they come from. Can your kids find cast members from all 50 states? How many international cast members have they met? And as a reminder: wear hats and apply sunscreen often and in high dosages, to make waiting in the direct sun much safer!

How I was Saved from the Horrors of Candy Land

Mickelle — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:52:05 +0000

I never liked this game, not even as a kid. However, I recognize the positive benefits of playing games with my 3-year-old Elle, and I could never deprive her of this experience. No matter how painful. However, I’ve recently been saved from some of this pain. I must thank Geetha B. Ramani and Robert S. Siegler of Carnegie Mellon University for their article “Promoting Broad and Stable Improvements in Low-Income Children’s Numerical Knowledge Through Playing Number Board Games.” I’ll admit, I didn’t read the entire article. I skimmed large portions of it. Lots of edu-speak and statistical numbers. But it did get me to thinking about changing the way I use traditional children’s games with my daughter. So I attacked Candy Land differently. I put aside the traditional cards with one or two colors indicating if one should move 1 red space or 2 yellow spaces, and introduced a squishy yellow die with dots representing the numbers 1 to 6. Elle thought the die was fun. Little did she know she was practicing the early math skill of recognizing dot patterns (or quick images) up to 6. Try this with your own child. It’s truly surprising how quickly they roll and say, “five” or “four” without counting each dot on the die. With every roll, she also had to move that many spaces. This isn’t so easy for a 3-year old that doesn’t quite have one-to-one tagging down. She counts as she moves, but she doesn’t always move exactly one space for each number counted. So, when appropriate, I’d help her move or point to each space as we counted together. On my turns (when she wasn’t moving my piece for me), I’d model making my piece jump one space for each number counted. Elle absolutely loved playing the game this way, and I loved turning this into an opportunity to watch and learn from her. As a teacher, I was challenged to keep the experience light-hearted yet below her frustration level. As a mom, I just had fun teasing and laughing along with Elle.

The Challenges of Math Education for Your Child: Making Learning Fun

Other variations for using Candy Land with 3-6 year olds: I know Elle won’t be entertained by this forever, and I’ll want to challenge her more as she grows. Here are some twists I’ll use in the future. (Am I actually looking forward to playing more Candy Land?):

Change the die used. Use a die with numerals 1-6; or better yet, 1-10, 1-12 or 1-20. As a teacher, I have a collection of these. Dice are cheap. Make the investment.
Rotate picking a card with picking a die. The traditional cards make the game move a lot faster, unless you get sent back to the beginning!
Roll two dice. Start with two dice, each using dot patterns. Then, combine one die with a dot pattern and one using numerals. Finally, use two dice with numerals. This introduces adding to the game.
Roll two dice. Choose one to move. This adds strategy to this traditional game of chance.
Pick a card and a die (for a slightly older child). Let your child decide if she should use the card first or the die first. Again, this adds strategy to the game.
Let your child choose if she wants to use a die or the cards. Then, use the opposite. What happens? Does your child think one choice is better than the other? Why? Is one scarier or riskier? Why?

Contig: Good Family Math Fun

Sue — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 19:07:06 +0000

In the spirit of sharing fun at-home math activities with parents, here's a suggestion for a great game that gives kids an opportunity to practice mental math without the boring worksheets! At the suggestion of Alexandria Jones in her Lets Play Math blog, my family recently played Contig. Alexandria is a homeschooling mom who loves math (I think she has the right philosophy: if all your children ever do is textbook math, that’s like feeding them broccoli-flavored ice cream). She suggested the game in a recent post, Contig Game: Master Your Math Facts, and included not only a link to download the game board but also variations that give you lots of ways to play it.

Looking for more Math Fun Ideas?

The game is great fun - it was a little over the head of our youngest player (first grade), but the kids loved playing it. If you're a parent who is always on the lookout for fun math activities, consider subscribing to the Lets Play Math blog - she is full of great ideas. For more math fun activities, get more people involved! Check out World Math Day on March 4th!