Games that will Help Children Memorize Math Facts
Many children have trouble memorizing math facts. Some seem to not be able to learn them to begin with; others might know them for a short time and then not be able to remember them the very next day. There is help for this situation! Instead of memorizing facts using flashcards, tap into the child’s ability to remember visuals instantly.
The math games below will help so much! It is never going to be best to hand children a stack of flash cards with facts on them and then drill every day until they know them. The problem with plain memorization is that children will just have to remember combinations of symbols and there is no real meaning attached to this activity.
The best way to prepare a beginner or to remediate a struggler is to take the time to lay some visual background for computation.
First, play the dot games that will teach children how many each number is. Dot arrays are an easy way to do this. When children can glance at an arrangement of dots and just “feel” how many dots there are, they are beginning to understand what each number symbol really means.
Next, arrange the dots in ways that show (don’t tell) combinations of numbers. For instance, if you have a dot pattern with two dots near each other and three a little over from the first two, the children will see that 2 dots and 3 dots are 5 dots. They won’t be memorizing numbers facts, rather they will be learning visually before having to memorize. Later if they are confronted with a flashcard that says “2 + 3 =” their visual memory will supply the visual of the arrangement of colorful dots they played with earlier. So when they come to formal computation, what they will do is actually visualize the answer rather than memorizing or counting on fingers. WOW! You will be so happy you took the time to lay a strong visual background!
Here are some pictures of some of our math games.
The game cards are much thicker and sturdier than normal playing cards, so not to fear they will get messed up as you are playing.
Snatch them up and help your child breeze through the learning of math facts. No more struggle to memorize those hated, boring math facts!
Our math game cards provide visual background.
