Many of you would have seen my post earlier called Maths Games At Home: Foundation Phase Fun.
I am passionate about making learning fun for children and the best way you can do this is by playing educational games at home. These games are uncomplicated. They don’t require many playing pieces or many items from around the house.
In this post, I decided to share some of the best dice games that I know of, for you to play with your children. These can all be played with cards if you don’t have dice. Just deal all cards and take turns to flip the cards instead of rolling the dice.
These games are best played in pairs or more but can be done individually. If you win a round, then you get a token or tally the points on a piece of paper or if playing with cards you win all the cards from the round.
If played individually get your child to write down the sums each time they roll.
Dice Games- Battles
Below are all variations of the same game- war or dice battles. They vary in difficulty so please choose the game/games that suit your child’s age and maths ability.
- Take turns to roll one dice. The person who rolls the largest number wins.
- Take turns to roll one dice and add one more to the number rolled. The person who has the greatest value wins that round.
- Take turns to roll a dice and take away one from each number (one less than). The person who has the highest value wins.
- Take turns to roll one dice and double the value. The person with the highest score wins.
- Take turns to roll two dice and add the values together. The person with the highest total wins.
- Take turns to roll three dice and add together. Encourage them to use the best strategies (doubles, friends of ten or bonds they know already)
- Take turns to roll two dice and take the smallest number away from the biggest number. The person with the largest number wins, e.g. if you roll a 5 and a 2 then 5 – 2 = 3.
For Slightly Older Children:
- Take turns to roll two dice and make the largest 2 digit number with those numbers, e.g. if you roll a 2 and a 5 you can make 25 or 52. The person who can make the biggest number wins. (This can be done with 3 dice and 3 digit numbers and so on).
- Race to zero. Start with a certain number of points (e.g. 20, 50 or 100). Take turns to roll one dice and subtract from the total. They may need a number line or a 100 square to help them.
- Race to 20, 50 or 100- same as above but start at zero and add the number you have rolled each time.
For Older Children:
- Roll 4 dice and make two sets of 2 digit numbers. Add these two numbers together. The person with the biggest total wins, e.g. if you roll 3, 5, 2 and 1 you can make 53 + 21. Encourage them to use the best strategies and talk about their thinking.
- Take turns to roll 2 dice and multiply the two numbers (this will quickly show them the commutative properties of multiplication sums e.g. 2 × 4 and 4 × 2 equal the same number).
Flip and Roll
This maths game requires a deck of cards and a dice. This can be played individually, in pairs or more. You place the numbers ace to 10 in a pile, face down on a table. Then you flip over one card and you roll one dice. You add the two together. The person with the biggest number total wins.
If you enjoyed these ideas then watch this space for the next post with even more Maths games at home part 3. Oh and again, if you missed it, remember my previous article is here, Maths Games At Home: Foundation Phase Fun.
Most importantly, have fun!
- Maths Games You Can’t-Miss: More Foundation Phase Fun - 17/04/2020
- Maths Games At Home: Foundation Phase Fun - 06/04/2020
