The Game Called Math: Improvised Math Flash Cards

 

Math must be fun. It should be a game rather than a thing to think of and fear with. This is how a teacher must manifest it to his/her students. And as a parent, this is how I do it: we play MATH.

 

My daughter will be in Kindergarten this year, and we are sending her to a Charter School that teaches more advanced curriculum. This means I have to prepare her ahead so everything will come smooth and easy on her – unlike me, who struggled over Math since first grade – me whose tears come out with every major math exams.

 

Let’s begin the game of addition and subtraction.

 

What you need:

Math Flash card (we bought ours from the dollar store)

Single puncher

Glittered sticker foam

 

 

Lay the flash cards with the right side facing you.

 

Punch holes in the glittered sticker foam and save the circles. 

 

Now on to the flash card. 

            … if it is a subtraction card, stick on the circles based on the largest number on the card. Position the circles in a way that your kid can cover the smaller number that is to be deducted from the larger number.

            … if it is an addition, you may stick on the circles below the addition line. I suggest the first layer will consist of the number of circles that matches the first number and the second layer the number of circles that matches the 2^nd number being added.

 

 

When everything is ready, show it to your kid as a game. This game will initially let her know how subtraction and addition work. When it is time to play, I tell her, “Ready to play the subtraction game?” And then off we go!