Number Games That You Should Let Your Kids Play

Games, as interactive and enjoyable as they are, can be incredibly educational too. They’ve been used pretty commonly to spread awareness and teach valuable lessons through story-based storylines of games. Story-lines are added in pretty advanced and graphic-oriented games, but even the simplest ones, such as number games for kids, could be seriously educational for your child.  
 

Number games are designed with a core objective of helping children understand numbers well, while building their skills up. It’s a really simple concept, especially for younger kids, and it makes sure that your child enjoys the process of learning new things.   

Number games introduce numerical concepts to kids in the most interesting way possible. They’re meant to be enjoyed, while stimulating the thinking skills of a young child. Number games could involve various pattern activities such as classifying digits as fractions, decimals or whole numbers, guiding kids by a mathematical journey they can truly enjoy.  

Number any group of objects from 0-9, and there’s an opportunity to create a powerful learning tool for children to absorb a variety of number skills. It has never been easier to teach kids the basics of problem solving, addition, or subtraction. Keep reading the article to find out the best ones you can try out with your kids initially.  

The choice of number games depends majorly on what the kid’s age is. If they’re too young, or kindergarteners, a decimal or fraction classification game wouldn’t be the most appropriate one for them.  

Here’s the beauty of it though, these games are never restricted to a particular age limit. They can be modified and adjusted to cater to the needs of children of all ages, regardless of their level of understanding.  

There are games specially designed for first learners as well, kindergarten kids of ages less than 5. With no technical concepts involved and just the information of the first few number sequences, these games are the best thing to refer to for building a strong mathematical foundation for your kindergarten kids.  

You could use 10 or 20 hard-copy pictures of a something your child likes a lot; it could be dinosaurs, dolls, Iron Man, anything! The first photo would have one dinosaur, the second would have two, the third would have three and so on. These sets of pictures are easy to find in the market or online, or you can make your own, that could be a fun activity to do with your child as well.  

Now write a number down at the back of every photo that represents how many dinosaurs there are in each specific photo. It makes it super easy for the kid to learn numbers in a sequence, all while being amazed at the majesty of their favorite creatures!  

Now that your kids are confident in knowing the first twenty numbers and their right sequence, it’s time to test it out through an exciting physical activity in your backyard. Take 10 number sticks and hide them around your backyard, and challenge your kid to find and arrange them in the right sequence.  

Feel free to help them whenever they need help, because you’re there to point them in the right direction, it's all for their enjoyment and learning anyway! Reward them with their favorite treats if they get it right, this will keep them motivated for more learning in the future.  

Here’s a game to really engrave the memory of the number sequence into your kid’s mind, all while getting their whole body involved in this fun physical math game. Shuffle and scatter around numbered Lego bricks around your kid from 0 to 20 and ask them to build a tower with the lowest number at the bottom and the highest at the top! 
 

We’ve put this game in the last because this one involves the interesting concept of ascending and descending order of numbers as well. They’ll understand that the numbers are ascending as the bricks are set from bottom to top. if they view the tower from top to bottom, numbers will be descending.  Make sure they notice these pointers to make the most out of this learning experience.  

You’ll need some basic materials for this, such as beads, crafting wire, tape, and a marker. Start by cutting each wire in half and attach a small tape to its bottom, then fold the sticky sides over together and you've created a label for the wire. Now write a number on each wire (0 – 9) on nine different wires.  
 

Now it’s time to have your kid count and insert the exact number of beads along the wire, as written on its taped label. Once they’re done with that, have them fold and shape the craft wire into that number’s shape. This will instill the skill of counting through beads, and it’ll make sure they never forget the shape of the numbers as they’re building it themselves. Once they’re done with all 9 numbers, challenge them to arrange each one from greatest to least.  

Kids love play dough, why not make use of that? It’s specially a great game if your kid’s a kinesthetic learner. Assign one specific number to the child and they’ll have to roll the play-dough into snakes to form the shape of the assigned number. Once they’re done with it, have them roll the same number of dough balls as that specific number represents, and they finally get to smash each ball as they count after they’re finished. It’s fun, creative, and keeps the child wishing for more! 

You’ll need a paper, a pencil, and a self-inking stamp (or a few of these). The nature of this game depends slightly on whether your child has learned writing on yet, or not. If not, you’ll need a highlighter to help them with the first step of drawing a specific number. If they’re already able to write numbers on their own, all you have to do is to assign them a number orally. They’ll start by writing the number down with a pencil. Now have them pick up the self-inking stamp and place it on the paper for as many times as the number represents. Once they’re done, have them count and mark down each stamp one by one.  

Splash math is quite honestly the best website you can find when it comes to looking for number games online. They have it all, delivering helpful games for kids of all age groups, covering all the basic topics of mathematics separately. From kindergarten to grade 1 - 5, they’ve provided a list on the left of their homepage which allows you to click on the relevant section depending on your child’s age. Just below that list, they’ve provided a topic-wise classification, just click on the topic you think needs more practice.  Browse through their games, they have hundreds of them!  

With a simple web address like that, even your kid can visit this website on their own. They’re homepage is also equipped with a “by-grade” list, letting you choose according to your needs. Unlike SplashMath.com, this website isn’t only limited to mathematics. They’ve also added typing games which help kids get better at a skill they’ll use all their lives. With printable worksheets, a range of online games, and special guided lessons, you’ll surely find what you’re looking for here.   

This website has a vibrant blue theme that naturally appeals to a kid’s eyes. It has multiplayer games too, which means 2 or more of your children could possibly play together in a constructive competition, all while learning math! With “math arcade”, “story math” or “logic games”, you’ve got a classified variety of directions to choose from for the learning journey of your kid. Your children could watch helpful math videos as well, to learn new things, and later test their skills with supporting games.  

It’s all about making it as fun and interactive as possible for the kids. We all know how quickly educational sessions can get boring, and that’s something every child will experience sooner or later. But in the earliest stages of their learning, using activities that make them move around in the back yard, or allow them to create stuff on their own using beads or dough, it all adds up to a valuable experience that the children will never get tired of. Pay attention to what type of activities your child loves the most and find more of the same kind!