Math You Can Play Combo: Number Games for Young Learners

by Denise Gaskins

Math Your Kids WANT to Do. You’ll love these math games because they give your child a strong foundation for mathematical success. By playing these games, you strengthen your child’s intuitive understanding of numbers and build problem-solving strategies. Mastering a math game can be hard work. But kids do it willingly because it’s fun. Math You Can Play Combo features two books in one, with 42 kid-tested games that offer a variety of challenges for preschool and school-age learners. Chapters Math games prevent math anxiety. Games pump up your child’s mental muscle, reduce the fear of failure, and generate a positive attitude toward mathematics. Parents can use these games to enjoy quality time with your children. Classroom teachers like them as warm-ups and learning center activities or for a relaxing review day at the end of a term. If you are a tutor or homeschooler, make games a regular feature in your lesson plans to build your students’ math skills. So what are you waiting for? Clear off a table, grab a deck of cards, and let's play some math!

204 pages, Paperback

First published August 19, 2015

Reviews

[Olisia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing. Denise Gaskins explains that math is more than memorizing facts but learning how to see patterns, make connections, and mentally solve problems. Her games provide the experiences necessary to thoroughly explore math in this way.
I love that Gaskins includes activities for a wide range of ages. Even though my kids are twins, they are each at their own level of mathematical understanding. It helps that I can use one book and still be able to meet the needs of both my children. This is a huge plus for homeschooling where so often new text books are required each semester in order to teach new concepts.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very encouraging, with excellent resources!

[Amanda Schneider · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not really something I “finished” but a really fun addition to our math learning.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as both a homeschooling parent and a math teacher/tutor and homeschool consultant. I would definitely recommend it to homeschoolers and other parents looking to engage their child with math through games. As a math educator, I'd seen some of these games before in other books but was happy to find many more that I'd never played and which use simple materials. I've tried a couple of them with my own kid and we enjoyed them and will try more, but she is at the upper end of the age/skill range for these games and I think we will get more out of the upcoming books in the series with multiplication and fraction games.

I think my favorite thing about this book is the perspective on teaching math that is communicated. I appreciate the focus on problem solving and logical reasoning, on playfulness, and on communicating and enjoying math together. The games are intended to be fun and to get kids (and adults) thinking and building their number sense, not just to practice a skill. I also enjoyed that the history of the games is given and that there are variations to try for many of them.

I did find the format of this book rather text-dense for a book of math games. This made it harder to look at a game quickly to remind myself of how it is played before/while trying it out with my child. I'm not sure what the solution is...Maybe numbered steps? I did find the illustrations helpful.

I certainly encourage giving this book a try if you are looking for math games for younger children.