Proof!
I have TWO awesome announcements to make this week!
First of all, my friend Kyle DeBoer has started a fantastic Instagram account, @ofmathandmeeples. I am already really impressed with the way he is using the account to share math games ideas - definitely give him a follow.
I also have a great card game for parents and teachers that my kids have really been enjoying. I like the game because it scales up to a group of any size, and older kids can find more inventive solutions as their mathematical sophistication grows.
It's called Proof!
How to Play
To play Proof! you lay nine cards out on the table. The game, as it is described in the rules, is very similar to SET: A group of players crowds over the table, looking for a set of cards. In this game, you are trying to find sets of cards that form valid equations.
So in this example, your child might pick up 26, 55, and 81 and then say "26 + 55 = 81." If everyone agrees that they have made a valid equation, they get to keep those cards.
Of course, you can get fancy and create equations with even more cards. Your child could grab five cards and say "76 - 26 = 55 - 3 - (18 - 16)" and keep all six cards!
Once someone takes their cards, you replace them and play another round. When all the cards are gone, the person with the most cards is the winner!
As with SET, I recommend that you take turns, rather than allow everyone to yell out their answers indiscriminately. This will get kids to focus their efforts on finding interesting and challenging equations, rather than simply finding the simplest three-card equation in seconds.
Questions to Ask
This game is absolutely ripe for questions! You can give your kids a hint in the form of a question, such as "Can you make an equation that involves the 14 card?" This will help focus their attention if they are feeling overwhelmed with options.
You can also ask your kids to find multiple equations from the same nine cards. I like escalating the difficulty by asking "Can you find an equation made from three cards? What about four cards? Five cards?"
Once, my son and I even had an opportunity to use all nine cards to make a valid equation! I found an image that was very similar to the card set we used: Can you find the nine-card equation?
Overall, I have found Proof! to be a very low-pressure way for both my older kids to stretch their math minds. Once they learn more about multiplication and division, they'll start to do even more sophisticated work with the cards! I have also found this to be the case with Prime Climb and other games where kids invent their own mathematical moves.
For now, I just like to lay some cards out on the breakfast table and see if they find any interesting equations during meals. I like setting up situations where my kids' attention is naturally drawn to math. If they engage, great! If not, no problem. I'll try again the next day.