Math is by far my daughter’s least favorite subject. It doesn’t take much before the “but it’s toooooooooooo hard” whines start appear every single time we work on anything related to math. Even if it is something that she already knows. I hate this. It is not the whining so much that I hate, but the lack of confidence in herself and the willingness to explore math. If it isn’t something she is enjoying and engaging it, it isn’t something that she is learning.
So the brainstorming began…
If you have a reluctant learner in a specific area some questions to consider are:
- What do they enjoy? -their passions, hobbies, favorite toys and/or activities
- How do they learn?
- What motivates them?
- What can you do to make this fun?
Right now my daughter is all about collecting stickers and playing games. So we gave this game a try and it was a success!
To Play Sticker Math You Will Need:
- Stickers
- Paper
- Dice
- Pen
The rules are simple. Set a number of math problems that each player is to do and then solve the problems. For our game we did addition since Livia is just starting to learn addition and subtraction.
To start Player 1 rolls the dice to get their number. Write that number down (or place the stickers on the paper). After they have recorded their first number they roll the dice again and record. Then they solve the problem!
Players can take turns or solve all their problems in one turn.
At the end of the game add up all of the problems that were solved correctly. The person with the most correct math problems wins the game!
This game could even be done individually without competition in a variety of different manners. You could have children try to solve enough problems to collect all of the stickers on a sheet, or all of the same type of stickers. I was surprised, but stickers can be an awesome, very easy way to get kids playing with math. Hope you guys give it a try!