Fun Math Activities

Math manipulatives provide students with fun math activities that reinforce important math concepts. Kids can "see and feel" how math works.

Items are listed here from the easiest to the most advanced.

The Bear Family Counters

Cuisenaire Rods

Introductory Set of Cuisenaire Rods
This introductory set of 74 plastic, multi-colored rods is perfect for family use and hours of fun math activities.
$12.99

Other fun math activities with rods:

1. To teach "partners to ten" make a ten quilt as fast as you can. 1+9, 2+8, 3+7, etc.
2. Give a two digit number like "45." The student needs to build an object with rods whose sum is 45.

War With Cards

Maybe you remember playing "War" with a deck of cards. Each person has a stack of playing cards, turns one over at a time, and whoever has the highest number gets the other players' cards for that round. When the deck is complete, the one with the most cards wins. Variations of this game provide fun math activities to reinforce basic math facts. For these games, you can make cards out of index cards. Or, a regular set of playing cards can be used.

Addition War
Each player turns over two cards each turn, adds the numbers, and whoever has the highest number collects all the cards for that round.

If you chose to use regular playing cards; the jack, queen, and king can be removed. Or, they can be a signal to add "ten" to the sum of the other two.

Multiplication War
The same game can be played with multiplication of the two numbers.

Subtraction War
This game can also be played with subtraction. Younger students can subtract the smaller number from the larger, and whoever has the highest answer wins the game.

For older students, a more complex version can be played. The second card can be subtracted from the first card, regardless of which is a larger digit. This gives experience with negative numbers. If one child has a -3, and another a -5; the -3 is the larger number.

For more fun math activities to reinforce math facts, see the ideas with dice below.

Miniature Clock Dials

These four inch miniature clocks on cardstock have hour and minute hands that can be moved. Great for small hands.
Age: 5 - 8
Concept: Telling Time
$0.95

Fun Math Activities with Clocks:
1. Write different times on cards or small slips of paper. (2:30, 6:15, etc.) Every morning, have the child move the hands on the cardboard clock to the written time.
2. If you have a digital clock or watch in the house, have the child set the cardboard clock to the same time.
3. Some students struggle with the concept of "time lapsed." Use the miniature clock to subtract time when doing those word problems.
4. Set the hands of the cardboard clock to a specific time (perhaps dinner time, or the time of an appointment.) Students have to figure out how long until that time arrives.

Pizza Fraction Fun Junior

How many kids do you know that do not like pizza? This game uses a favorite food to teach fraction concepts to students of differing abilities at the same time. 7 different games provide months of fun math activities while learning fractions. Eleven double-sided cardboard pizzas are eight inches in diameter.
Age: 6 - 10
Concepts: Identify, add, and subtact fractions
$14.99

Rainbow Fraction Tiles

Rainbow Fractions provide more fun math activities with their multi-colored plastic tiles. Red is always equal to "one whole." The pinks are always "one half, etc." The different fractions also include 1/3, 1/4, 1/5, 1/6, 1/8, 1/10, 1/12.

At first the student will learn that three of the orange "1/3" tiles is equal to one "whole." Six of the blue "1/6" tiles also equals one "whole." As they progress, they will learn that one "1/2" and 2 "1/4" will also equal one "whole."

An activity guide is included.
Age: 6 - 12
Concepts: Fractions - identify, add, subtract, equivalency
$10.99

Rainbow Fraction Equivalency Cubes

These cubes are made by the same company as the Rainbow Fraction Tiles listed above and use the same color codes. Instead of flat tiles, however, these are three dimensional blocks that snap together. They also teach more advanced mathematical concepts.

One side of the cube has the fraction, another side has the decimal, and a third side has a percentage. The fourth side is blank.

For instance, the pink cubes represent "1/2" (as they do in the tiles and all Rainbow Fraction products.) One side of the cube has "1/2" printed on it; another side has "0.5"; and a third side has "50%." As they work with the cubes, the students can see and feel how decimals, fractions, and percentages are interrelated.

If your student has trouble with the concepts of decimals and percents, there is no other tool as helpful as this. They can easily understand how 8 of the "1/8" cubes equals one "whole." It makes sense that 1/8 equals half of 1/4; and if 1/4 equals 25%, then 1/8 equals 12.5%. They can also see the correlation between 12.5% and 0.125.

51 cubes - multi-colored, interlocking, plastic
Age: 8 to 14
Concepts: Fractions, Decimals, Percents - identification, addition, subtraction, multiplication
$14.99

More fun math activities with Equivalency Cubes:
Play a game of catch with a ball, frisbie, or other object. The skill required should be slightly challenging for the student so he or she doesn't catch or miss all of the throws. Start by using the 1/10 cubes and playing ten "rounds." The student gets one cube for each correct catch; you get a cube for each one missed. As the game is being played, have the student calculate their score in fractions, decimals, or percents with each toss.

When they understand the concept with the 1/10 cubes, move to the 1/8 or 1/12 and change the number of rounds accordingly.

Power Solids Geometric Shapes

I wish we had these when one of my sons was struggling with some of the high school geometry problems in Saxon Math. These are a great help for grasping area and volume of geometric shapes.

This 3-dimensional set of 12 shapes is made of translucent plastic. They are about 2 inches high and can be filled with either solid or liquid ingredients. This allows the student to compare surface area and volume in real life, not just as a mathematical formula.

The set includes a cone, a square pyramid, a triangular pyramid, a hemisphere, a cylinder, a sphere, a rectangular prism, cube, small traingular prism and large triangular prism, hexagonal prism, and square prism.

Age: 12 - 17
Concept: Geometric volume and area
$17.99

More fun math activities: Fill with liquids which have been measured in mililiters. Then fill with solids which were measured by weight.

Dice in Dice

6 Sided Dice
Standard size and shape

You get two dice in one. The outer is a standard size die, brightly colored made of translucent plastic. Inside is a miniature die. Both use the typical dot pattern seen on the dice commonly used in games.

Use these for prediction and probability when teaching statistics.

These can be used in Kindergarten and 1st Grade math to reinforce addition facts to 12. Have the student roll the dice, and add the two numbers. For more fast and fun math activities, have two students compete to see who can add the quickest.

In addition to mathematical applications, these dice are also appealing to kids. They may prefer to play with these rather than a set of dice in other games.

Ages 6 - 18
Concepts: Addition to 12, statitical probability
3 sets of dice for $1.00 (That is, three dice, each with a smaller die inside.)

10 Sided Dice
Decahedral Shape - 1 inch long

If you enjoy teaching statistics with the 6-sided double dice, you can multiple the fun with these ten sided dice. These plastic die have one of the ten digits on each side. A smaller miniature die is inside each and also has the ten digits.

You can teach probability with these die for high school statistics.

We also use them to reinforce addition and multiplication tables. Roll the dice, and multiple the two numbers that come up. A quick and fun review - listen to the kids beg for a few more problems!

Ages 6 - 18
Concepts: Statistics, addition/multiplication review
2 for $1.00 (Two 1" die, each with a miniature die inside)

Have you found other fun math activities? Share them with us on our Reviews page. They do not have to be items for sale.

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