Blog — Games for Young Minds

The Best Math Games for Your Third Grader

It feels like 3rd grade is where the rubber meets the road for a lot of kids. We all remember the brutal timed multiplication tests that were foisted on us as kids, and we'd rather our own kids not feel stressed about learning that vital mathematical concept.

These games, hopefully, will give your kids a chance to think and strategize about multiplication in a way that helps them build true fluency, not just speed. And I've included a couple of non-multiplication games that are also great for 3rd graders to play.

You can always check out my recommendations for earlier ages at these links:

Now, on to 3rd grade!

Free Games, Board Games, PuzzlesKent HainesApril 29, 2021Comment

The Best Math Games for Your Second Grader

My oldest is in 2nd grade now, and after years of play-testing games with me, he has pretty high standards for new games. So I can say this with full confidence: He loves all these games, and I expect your kids will, too!

I've been working my way through all my old recommendations to find the best games for any age, so you can check out my previous editions of this newsletter at the links below.

So let's check out these 2nd grade games!

Free Games, Board GamesKent HainesApril 16, 2021Comment

The Best Math Games for Your Pre-Schooler

It happened so slowly.

In the fall of 2017, I sent my very first Games for Young Minds newsletter. I had set up a website to act as an archive of my old newsletters, and each week I added a new post.

And the archive got longer, and longer, and longer...

Now I have over 100 games in my archive with no clear way to navigate them! I am thinking about how to fix that, but in the meantime I figured the least I could do is collect some of my favorite games and toys for each grade level.

This week, I'll share some recommendations for pre-schoolers. Each subsequent week, I'll cover the next grade until we hit middle school!

Board Games, Books, Free Games, PuzzlesKent HainesMarch 18, 2021Pre-schoolComment

Bad Calculators

Little kids love playing with calculators.

My toddler Dalia, for example, loves nothing more than grabbing my calculators, along with anything else with buttons, and mashing them to see what happens. Adorably, she refers to her collection of button-based toys as "my growmups," as in "Daddy, these is my growmups"

My older kids like plying with them too, though. My eight-year-old is always trying to figure out what each button does, while my five-year-old tries to type in massive numbers and then say them out loud, proudly and incorrectly.

I was reminded of this by Michael Pershan, who gave me two great recommendations: First, get a big calculator with fun buttons and keep it in the car. You never know what discoveries your kids might make on the way to school!

Secondly, grab a laptop and get them to play Bad Calculators.

Free Games, Digital Games, PuzzlesKent HainesJanuary 14, 2021Comment

Knock-Out

Have I told you about my awesome colleague Tami? She and I teach the math courses at UAB for future elementary educators. And, unlike me, she actually has years of firsthand experience teaching young children all about math.

In fact, Tami is the inspiration behind this entire newsletter. Way back in 2016 I was talking to her about finding opportunities for parents and kids to talk about math at home and she said “Yeah, but parents don’t really know how to ask good math questions. That’s why I always used to send math games home for homework. Kids love games, and parents can pick up on the rules quickly. Then the math just sort of happens.”

And an idea was born…

Last winter, Tami lent me a game that she used to use in her 1st grade classroom and then March happened and, well, I still have it. I think it’s one of the simplest, most fun early math games I’ve played - and if you don’t have the board, you can play for free with a few dice and some paper!

The game is called Knock-Out.

Board Games, Free GamesKent HainesDecember 31, 2020Comment

Battle Lines

I'm always on the hunt for games that teach kids about the other areas of math aside from arithmetic. I can name two dozen games offhand that help kids with addition, subtraction, and multiplication, but some of the other areas of math, such as measurement, don't come up explicitly in games quite as often.

That's not to say that kids never measure in games: They do it all the time! But sometimes you want a game that helps kids think about measuring more explicitly.

Fortunately, my math teacher friend Kyle DeBoer has invented a fantastic measurement game. I took the game into my other math teacher friend, Rebecca Smith's 4th grade classroom at my son's school, and I can tell you that kids love this game!

It's called Battle Lines.

Free GamesKent HainesDecember 17, 2020Comment

Killer Sudoku

Last week was... stressful! While I waited with the rest of the country as the country took an entire week to open Schrodinger's box, I found the strangest way to calm down: watching these two delightful British men solve absurd sudoku puzzles on Youtube.

I know, that sounds crazy, right? But seriously, check this video out - it's the one that got me hooked. I found it from a Twitter friend, and 20 minutes later I was cheering like the crowd in Rudy, watching a man place numbers in a 9x9 grid.

Free Games, Other Activities, PuzzlesKent HainesNovember 12, 2020Comment

Round 'Em Up

This week's game was invented by Tracy Proffitt, who is one of the hosts of the lovely Math Before Breakfast podcast. If you're a teacher, by the way, definitely check out Tracy's podcast! They do a great job of keeping a conversational vibe while also being well-prepared and thoughtful on their topics. And the show notes are a treasure trove of great resources, activities and games!

Free GamesKent HainesOctober 22, 2020Comment

Multiplication by Heart

Back in April, I sent out a newsletter about the Kickstarter campaign for Multiplication by Heart. This set of flash cards was developed by Dan Finkel, whom you'll remember as the creator of Tiny Polka Dot and Prime Climb.

You might wonder - flash cards sound like the opposite of a game. Why would Kent be promoting these things?

Two reasons: First of all, I trust Dan, and I know that he is already hard at work figuring out ways to make games from these beautiful cards. And secondly, I know that lots of parents out there are going to buy multiplication flash cards for their kids at some point, and I'd rather those flash cards be awesome.

Well, now you get to see exactly what I mean! Because Dan has partnered with the folks at Mathigon to create a free, online version of his Multiplication by Heart cards!

Digital Games, Free Games, Other ActivitiesKent HainesOctober 15, 2020Comment

playingcards.io

When I announced that the newsletter was back, I asked for people to send me requests. I heard from A LOT of folks who were interested in finding a way to play games without sharing materials, either at home, in virtual classrooms, or in-person.

So I've been hunting for resources ever since! And I wanted to share one with you this week: playingcards.io

Free Games, Digital Games, Other ActivitiesKent HainesOctober 8, 2020Comment

Solitaire Games for ANY Age!

Sometimes, your kids need some alone time. And sometimes, you need your kids to have some alone time.

Most of the games I've recommended so far have been multiplayer games, which are a great way to spark mathematical discussions and investigations between parents and adults.

But sometimes, you just need 30 minutes while you get through some emails. And below I have some great games for your kids to play solo while you compose email after email that starts "Sorry for the delay, things are a little hectic around here..."

Digital Games, Free GamesKent HainesApril 13, 2020Comment

Up and Down - A Jumping Game

I am extremely proud to be sharing today's newsletter, because it came directly from you!

One of my readers, Vila McHenry, emailed me this week to share a brand-new game that she and her son invented with the Tiny Polka Dot cards.

As Vila mentioned, her son is 5 years old, and was having a bit of trouble remembering how to count backwards from 10 to 0. So she invented this game to help him practice that skill in a fun, and physical, way.

The game is called Up and Down, and I can't wait to try it out with my own 5-year-old this weekend!

Free GamesKent HainesApril 10, 2020Comment

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