Family
Learning Activities & Games
The best part of being home is spending time with
family—quality time!
Make learning fun and part of that time.
The following activities were created with this in
mind. Evenings
can be stressful with making dinner, finishing homework,
shuffling to after school sports & activities, packing
for the next school day, and bedtime.
Take some time to enjoy a family game together, and (Shhh!)
the kids won’t even know they are actually learning at the
same time. Genius!
Math Games
If
you do not have dice or a deck of cards, click here:
www.random.org/dice/
Concentration
(addition, subtraction)
The object of the game is to find pairs of matching cards
among an array of face down cards.
Help your child write addition and/or subtraction
facts on one set of index cards, and the answers on another
set. Shuffle
the cards and lay them out face down.
The first player turns over two cards.
If they match, the player keeps the two cards and
takes another turn. The
next player continues by trying to find two matching cards.
When all the cards have been collected, the player
with the most pairs wins.
Dice
Games
(addition)
You will need 2, 3, or 4 dice and a score sheet. Tally to so many rolls or to a preset score such as 50 or 100
points. Vary it
by adding the sums of the dice together, and the greatest or
least score wins! Vary
it again by rolling 3 colored dice and 1 white die.
Subtract the number on the white die from the sum of
the colored dice, and the greatest sum wins!
Go
Fish (addition)
Prepare flashcards from 0 – 10 (3 sets of each number).
Play “Go Fish” to add numbers up to 10.
Example: Sally
has the number 4, so she asks her mother for the number 6
because 4+ 6 = 10.
War
Divide a deck of cards evenly.
Each player will put out two cards and add them
together. Whoever has the highest total will take all cards.
The object is to take the whole deck.
Pig
(addition)
Players take turns rolling two dice.
A player may roll the dice as many times as he/she
wants, mentally keeping a total of the sums that come up.
When the player stops rolling, he/she records the
total, and adds it to the scores from the previous rounds.
BUT if a one is rolled, the player scores a 0 for
that round, and it’s the next player’s turn.
Race
For a $1.00 (money
addition)
You need 30 pennies, 10 nickels, 20 dimes, 1 quarter, a
dollar, 2 dice, and a partner.
Take turns. On
your turn, roll the dice.
The sum tells how many pennies to take.
When you have 5 pennies, trade for a nickel.
When you have two nickels, trade for a dime.
When you have two dimes and one nickel, trade for a
quarter. The
first player to reach $1.00 is the winner.
Guess
My Number (number
logic)
You need: pencil,
paper, partner
Player one picks a number between 0 – 99 and writes it
down. Player
two makes a guess and writes it down.
Player one gives a clue:
“Your guess is greater than my number” or “Your
guess is less than my number.”
Continue playing until player two guesses player
one’s number. Switch
jobs and play again.
The
1 to 10 Game (addition)
You need: 2 dice, 1 deck of cards, and a partner
Use only the Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 cards.
One of you takes the red cards, and one of you takes
the black cards. Take
turns. On your
turn, roll the dice and figure out the sum.
Remove enough cards from your hand to add up to that
sum. For
example, if you roll a 5 and a 3, you can make 8 in many
ways (5+3, 4+4, 4+2+2, 8, etc…) If you can’t make the
sum with the cards in your hand, roll again.
If you can’t make a sum after 3 rolls, you lose the
game. You win
if your partner can’t make a number in 3 rolls or if you
use up all your cards.
Number
Family Rummy (fact
families)
Use a deck of 40 cards: Four suits of ace through ten.
The goal is to make families of three cards that are
related by addition or subtraction.
For example: 5,
5, and 10 are a family because 5+5=10 and 10 –5=5.
6,3, and 9 are a family because 6+3=9, 3+6=0, 9-6=3,
and 9-3=6.
Shuffle the deck and deal 6 cards to each player. Place the remaining cards face down in a pile.
If you have any family of cards, set them aside.
If you don’t have any families, you may draw one
from the pile and discard one of your own.
You may also discard the one you picked up, if you
don’t want it. The
first player to get rid of all 6 cards (2 fact families) is
the winner. Remember
that the ace equals one.
Grab
Bag Subtraction
Choose
a number of things to work with, and put that many objects
in a bag. You can use crayons, coins, buttons, beans, etc….) Grab a
handful of the items and count them.
Use subtraction to figure out how many items are left
in the bag. So
if you put 100 items in the bag and pulled out 20, then you
would write 100 – 20=80. Let your partner have a turn, and whoever leaves the least
amount in the bag is the winner.
Lineup
(number
order, multiples)
Prepare number cards from 0-50.
If more than two players are going to play, you might
want to prepare two decks.
Shuffle the cards and deal 8 to each player.
Players place their cards face up in a horizontal
line in front of them in the same order in which they are
received. Players
may not move their cards around.
The object of the game is to be first to have your
cards in the right sequential order from smallest to
largest. A
player does this by taking a card on each turn from the top
of the undelt deck, and using it to replace any of the cards
in his/her lineup. He/She
discards the card that is replaced. Whenever a player’s lineup of numbers is in the correct
order from smallest to largest, he/she calls out LINEUP and
wins the game.
You can vary this game by using multiples of numbers (or
number patterns). You
still have 8 cards, but are trying to get multiples in order
from smallest to largest. So you can do multiples of 2 (or counting by 2s):
2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 or multiples of 3:
3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24.
Card
Capture (addition,
subtraction)
Use a set of fact flashcards.
Divide the cards between the two players.
One player attacks, while the other player defends. The defending player shows his/her cards (problem side up)
one at a time to the attacking player.
If the attacking player says the right answer, he/she
captures the card and adds it to his/her own.
He/She can continue capturing cards until he/she
answers incorrectly. When this happens, the defending player becomes the attacker,
and gets his/her chance at capturing the cards.
This continues with cards being captured back and
forth until one player winds up with all the cards, or has
the most cards when time is called.
You can even set the rules to the first player to
capture 20 cards, or any number you’d like.
Addition
and Subtraction Turnover
Each player is given 11 cards numbered 0-10.
These are placed face up in a row.
Players roll two dice on a turn and may choose to add
or subtract the two numbers shown on the dice.
If the resulting sum or difference equals one of the
number cards still face up, the player can turn that card
face down. Next
player then takes a turn.
This continues until one of the players wins by
turning all 11 cards face down.
Subtraction
Pig
Two
or more players start out with 100 points each.
Players in turn roll two dice and subtract that
number from their points.
A player on a turn continues rolling the dice and
subtracting the resulting number from his/her remaining
points until a 1 appears on any dice rolled.
That player’s turn ends, and the next player takes
a turn. When a player has lost all of his/her points, he/she is out
of the game. The
last player in the game is the winner.
More Math Games…
Math
in the Home
http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/parents/Math/mathhome.html
Math
at the Grocery Store
http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/parents/Math/grocerymath.html
Math
on the Go
http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/parents/Math/mathgo.html
Math
For the Fun of It
http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/parents/Math/funmath.html
Family Math Challenge
*This idea comes from Mrs. Swan at Cedar Creek Elementary
These
challenges are meant to be worked on with your family.
These challenges change about every other week.
These challenges are differentiated, meaning that if
the challenge is too hard or too easy, you can choose an
easier or harder version of it without having to do a whole
new problem. If
you turn in your family math challenge, and it is correct,
you will earn a punch on your Earn & Return card, as
well as a star towards the Mastery Club!
Click
on this link to Aunty’s Math:
Click on “Try Today’s Challenge”
or “Try Past Challenges”
www.dupagechildrensmuseum.org/aunty/index.html
Challenging
Learning Adventures
This
is where all of the extra activities are, for those of you
who finish your homework quickly, and are looking for some
extra credit or a challenge!
Extra
Credit Projects
You can
earn extra credit and Earn & Return points for
completing any of these projects!
These projects can be developed over time and shared
with the class. Who
would have thought you could have fun and learn at the same
time?
1.
Game—Create a game on a topic with
instructions, game pieces, and a board.
2.
Structure—Make a 5-foot tall structure using
7 materials. Take
a picture and bring it to class.
3.
School or Town Video Project—Make a video of
your school or town’s history or present.
4.
How To Video Project—Make a how-to video to
teach how to do something you know how to do well.
5.
Animal Project—Write a one page report on an
animal of your choice, model, and poster.
6.
Invention—Make and build an invention that
improves something. Bring
it to school and present it to the class.
7.
Musical
Instrument—Create a new musical instrument and make up
a song using it.
8.
Robot—Build a robot that helps around the
house. Bring it
to school and present it to the class.
9.
Blue Prints—Design blue prints and build a
model for a future house or building.
10.
Puppets—Make puppets and do a show for the
class with them.
Activity
Calendars
Click
on either of the following calendar links from Enchanted
Learning and Reading Is Fundamental.
Choose an activity to complete and turn in to me.
www.enchantedlearning.com/activitycalendars/
www.rif.org/us/literacy-resources/activities/monthly-activity-calendars.htm
