Fun games

Whether you have a 2 year old who is just starting to learn numbers or a 10 year old that knows subtraction or addition, it is never too early or too late to learn about counting or math games. Children that are young benefit from games that teach them how to count objects and recognize numbers whereas older children benefit from games that help them learn how to add and subtract and build the basis for learning about algebra.

Aside from the obvious board games where you roll the dice and move your game piece a certain number of spaces, there are plenty of other counting games that you can play. Dominoes can keep kids busy for hours. I recently spent over 1 hour playing with dominoes with my two year old. We counted the numbers of dots. We counted the dominos as we stacked them or put them in or out of the container. We lined them up and counted them together. After they were all lined up, I let him push the first domino to make them all fall down.

Hide things in your house such as blocks, plastic eggs or marbles. Before you hide them, count them with your child. Then, they can go find them all. Once they have been found, they can count them again to make sure that they have all been found. Older kids can add or subtract to figure out how many they have left to find. In order to encourage sharing, have two or more children hunt the objects. At the end of the hunt, count the number in each kid's bucket. Then work together to make sure that everyone has the same amount in their bucket.

Drop objects in a bucket or plastic containers that are lined up next to each other. Count how many objects are in each bucket. Count the number of objects that did not make it into a container. Once again, take the opportunity to incorporate addition or subtraction with older children.

Young children love learning about eyes, ears, fingers, toes, etc. Count body parts together. For instance ask, "How many eyes does Mommy have?" or "How many fingers do you have?" Count familiar household items such as pets, shoes or pots and pans.

Children also love to eat snacks, so incorporate counting with snack time. Ask "How many Cheerios do you have?" or "How many Goldfish are in the blue cup? How many are in the red cup?" Count out snacks to make sure each child has the same amount. If one child has two more Cheerios than another one, teach them to give the other child one of their's so that they have the same amount.

Be creative in teaching your child to count. They love to count and learn, but they also want to have fun too. It is possible to incorporate both in daily activities. Lead by example and show them how you count things. You don't want to have them counting and reciting numbers all day long, but at the same time there are so many opportunities to help them learn their numbers. Work with your children to come up with your own fun games and counting activities.