Fun K-4 math games/activities/books?

[Momto6inIN]

Reading the math thread on the general ed board and mulling over my overall goals these past couple months, I think I need to interject some more fun and application into my early elementary math. We use Math Mammoth and I absolutely do not want to change that as our main curriculum, but if I did MM M-Th and then added some fun stuff on Fridays, I'm hoping that will add some fun and reduce the "I hate math" attitude we have going right now in my 2nd and 6th grader.

My DD15 did MM and hated math throughout, but now that she's in high school and mostly through Video Text Algebra amd Geometry, she grudgingly admits that math is elegant and learning the concepts was helpful and now she kind of sort of likes math. So I think the conceptual approach we've taken *will* bear fruit in the long run, but I'm hoping to help grease the wheels a little bit while we wait for that day to come.

Some things we've enjoyed: baking/recipes, making a "gallon man", Math on the Menu (combinations), Reflex Math (fact fluency).

What are some other good options? Thanks!

[Zoo Keeper]

My artsy visual kids enjoyed doing these books -- Designs in Math

Not conceptually challenging or full of "aha" moments, but a nice change from speed drills or other facts drills. 

My mathy ones enjoyed Miquon (done at their pace) very much in the K-3rd/4th years.

[Momto6inIN]

25 minutes ago, Zoo Keeper said:

My artsy visual kids enjoyed doing these books -- Designs in Math

Not conceptually challenging or full of "aha" moments, but a nice change from speed drills or other facts drills. 

My mathy ones enjoyed Miquon (done at their pace) very much in the K-3rd/4th years.

Those look fun, thanks!

Did you use Miquon exclusively K-3? If so, did you find it difficult to transfer to a different curriculum afterwards and/or know where to start?

[Momto6inIN]

1 hour ago, square_25 said:

Personally, I don’t know that I’d stick to a curriculum that inspires “I hate math,” but I’ve certainly heard is a solid curriculum!

Have you looked at Beast Academy at all? They have some fun puzzles in there :-).

Oh, the Math For Love website has some cool games :-). Have you seen it? 

My oldest thrived with AoPS in high school, but he is a math and CS lover and has been from birth. The rest of us are more language lovers and hate the discovery approach that AoPS uses. My other 2 teenagers looked at his math books and begged me not to make them use them LOL! The only reason AoPS worked for 1st DS was because I could hand him the books and he was mathy enough that he didn't need me to guide or teach him, just listen and nod appreciatively while he rhapsodized about calculus theory 😊 Honestly, the BA samples I've seen make my eyes bleed LOL I hate comic books with a passion, so it's really not the right fit for me as a teacher. I totally understand why lots of people like it, but it's not for me.

The rest of my kids are bright but not particularly mathy, and math is my weakness, so I need a solid program I can follow exactly and know they are learning the concepts and not just the algorithms like I did in school. I learned soooo much conceptually the first year hs'ing with MM that I didn't know before! Hence my devotion to MM 😊 I think my kids' "I hate math" attitude reflects more on their character deficiencies about doing difficult things than it does on the curriculum 😊 

But I will definitely look at the Math for Love website, thanks!

[Sarah0000]

Prime Climb

Sums in Space

Zeus on the Loose

Beast Academy

Miquon

Mindware books (like Algebra Antics)

Penrose the Mathematical Cat

Alice in Numberland

Greg Tang books

Math Start books

Geo boards, tangrams, c rod, compass play

Mythematical Battles

Prodigy online game

Dragon box apps

Slice Fractions app

Right Start games

 

[Momto6inIN]

6 hours ago, square_25 said:

You can skip the comics!! I just like the puzzles. My daughter does like the comics, but I could take them or leave them.

Teach from MM, pull some puzzles from BA for fun, that’s what I meant. Lemme link a few; they have some extra puzzles on the site, but there are way more in the books.

My homeschooling classes like these:

https://beastacademy.com/pdf/2A/printables/HoneycombPaths.pdf

 

Ah, I get it, I will look again and see if I can get past the comics

4 hours ago, Sarah0000 said:

Prime Climb

Sums in Space

Zeus on the Loose

Beast Academy

Miquon

Mindware books (like Algebra Antics)

Penrose the Mathematical Cat

Alice in Numberland

Greg Tang books

Math Start books

Geo boards, tangrams, c rod, compass play

Mythematical Battles

Prodigy online game

Dragon box apps

Slice Fractions app

Right Start games

 

Oooh, some of these look fun, thanks!

[Zoo Keeper]

On 12/26/2019 at 10:58 AM, Momto6inIN said:

Those look fun, thanks!

Did you use Miquon exclusively K-3? If so, did you find it difficult to transfer to a different curriculum afterwards and/or know where to start?

No, not just Miquon on its own--although I think it could be fine on its own for the right kid who doesn't need lots of drill and repetition, and who likes to play with concepts.

I use a combo of R&S, Singapore, Miquon & MEP in K-3rd.  My more mathy kids get all of this, the less math-inclined only do some of it.  But everybody does all of at least two of these programs in K-3rd. Depending on the child, ONE program is the main math that always get done daily, and the others are fun that get done throughout the week as the child and I are able.  I find that it helps them see concepts in different ways, and the programs review/reinforce each other without it being the same old same old. 

I *do not* try to make all this line up topically ( i.e. all programs teaching double digit addition at the same time) because this is crazy.  I have other things that already make me crazy. 😉  ( I have six kids, too.) 🙂

Edited January 4, 2020 by Zoo Keeper

[Lori D.]

- Games for Math (Kaye)
- Mathmania -- the math/number based activities/puzzlers from from Highlights magazine

manipulatives + a "go-along" book:
- "Pattern Block Puzzles" -- past thread with ideas for pattern blocks
- Pattern Blocks + Advanced Pattern Block book (gr. 3-6), or print task cards, or other 
- 100 Number Chart + 1-100 Activity Book
- Mathlink Cubes +  Activity Book (gr. 3-6), Problem Solving with Cubes book
- Funtastic Frogs + activity book
- Cuisenaire rods + Idea Book, Addition and Subtraction, print online worksheets, watch/do Education Unboxed
- Geoboards + activity book, Working with Geoboards (gr. 5-6), Geoboard Activity book, Enhanced Points of Departure, or print online worksheets at her level
- Tangrams + Math Discoveries book, Tangoes
- Judy Clock + money + The Complete Book of Time & Money
- Stick Kids workbook

real-life games that involve math
- Rack-o (number sequence)
- Dino Tracks (place value)
- games with money (Life, Payday, Monopoly, Go For Broke, Careers)
- games with adding (Shut the Box, the card game 99)
- various Muggins games

Edited December 28, 2019 by Lori D.

[letsplaymath]

I have posted a wide variety of math games on my blog, from preschool level to middle school (or beyond). This post lists them all:

• https://denisegaskins.com/2017/01/07/my-favorite-math-games/

I've also written several books on homeschooling math in a playful way, but the games on my blog will take you far, no purchase required.

[Lori D.]

Forgot -- something DSs LOVED doing in grades K-2 was setting up a store with cans and boxes from the recycling, and I would put prices on them, and give them each an old wallet with real money, and we'd take turns being "shopper" or "cashier", and adding up prices/paying/making change. I geared the prices according to where they were in understanding coins and in making change. So we might start off with everything being 10 cents, so the shopper/cashier could skip count by tens to find the total for the items. We branched out from there.

(It helped that DSs also had a plastic construction set that allowed them to build a shopping cart with wheels, lol -- but you could use one of those kid wheelbarrows or a wagon for your shopping cart. Also, setting up the store was always part of the fun for them.)

And, some books:

books at K-3 level
Even Steven and Odd Todd (Cristaldi) -- sorting / odd & even
The Dragon's Scales (Albee) -- weighing
Little Numbers (Packard) -- fractional and decimal numbers
Fly on the Ceiling (Glass) -- Descartes and his graphing coordinates 
The Case of the Shrunken Allowance (Rocklin/Burns) -- money
Breakfast at Danny's Diner (Stamper) -- multiplication
Too Many Cooks (Buckless) -- multiplication
512 Ants on Sullivan Street (Losi) -- doubling
One Hungry Cat (Rocklin/Burns) -- division
Two Tickets To Ride (Slater/Burns) -- division
The Smushy Bus (Helakoski) -- all 4 operations 
Ben Franklin and the Magic Squares (Murphy/Walz) -- math puzzle/number connections
Three Pigs, One Wolf, Seven Magic Shapes (MacCarone)  -- math puzzle/number connections
Go, Fractions! (Stamper)
Pizza Pizzazz (Losi/Burns)

Math Matters series (K-3rd) -- math dilemnas with clever character solutions
The 100-Pound Problem (Dussling) -- weight
Carrie Measures Up (Aber) -- measuring
Sam's Sneaker Squares (Gabriel) -- measuring
Where's That Bone -- Lucille Penner -- mapping
X Marks the Spot (Penner) -- mapping
All Aboard (Skinner) -- time/schedule
It's About Time, Max! (Richards) -- telling time
Tightwad Tod (Skinner) -- money
Bad Luck Brad (Herman) -- estimating
Chickens on the Move (Pollack) -- area and perimeter
Clean Sweep Campers (Penner) -- fractions
Stacks of Trouble (Brenner) -- multiplication
Everybody Wins (Bruce) -- division
Who's Got Spots (Aber) -- organizing information with tallies and graphs

picture books at a grade 2-6 level
The Librarian Who Measured the Earth (Lasky)
What's Your Angle, Pythagoras (Ellis)
Sir Cumference series (Neuschwander)

books at a gr. 4-8 level 
Math Curse (Scieskza) -- gr. 3-6
Penrose the Mathematical Cat (Pappas) -- gr. 4-6
Math and Magic in Wonderland (Mohr) -- gr. 4-6 -- I think this one was written by a WTMer!
Math Inspector series (Kenney) -- gr. 4-7
A Gebra Named Al (Isdell) -- gr. 5-8
Number Devil (Enzensberger) -- gr. 5-8
Mathematicians Are People Too, vol. 1, & vol. 2 (Reimer) -- gr. 4-8
The Man Who Counted (Tahan) -- gr. 5-8


ETA -- PS
And, perfect for your 6th grader -- episodes of the old PBS show Cyberchase!

Edited December 27, 2019 by Lori D.

[Momto6inIN]

@Lori D. you are always such a treasure trove of resources! Thanks so much!

[Lori D.]

@Momto6inIN -- I just realized that first post was a copy-paste from a Kinder/1st thread, so I went back and changed some of the links to grade 2, and a few grade 6 resources. 😉 

[Frances]

At that age, my son really enjoyed the 12 volume “I Love Math” series from Time-Life. They are out of print, but our library had them.

https://www.livingmath.net/i-love-math-young-math

 

 

[Lori D.]

9 hours ago, Frances said:

At that age, my son really enjoyed the 12 volume “I Love Math” series from Time-Life. They are out of print, but our library had them.

https://www.livingmath.net/i-love-math-young-math

Wow, your link leads to a VERY cool list of math-related books for young elementary ages!