Teaching Math with Homeschool Games

For those of us who struggled with math in school, it can be a real challenge to teach your homeschooled child to enjoy math. One of the best ways to overcome this obstacle is adding homeschool math games to your curriculum. Here are some to get you started.

• Play store. Give your child a handful of change. Set out some objects, such as pencils, small toys and maybe even a treat or two. Put little price tags on the objects, and take turns with your child being both the customer and cashier.
• Pull out the classic board games. Many of your old childhood favorite games are great for teaching math skills. Try games like Monopoly, Life and dominoes. Your kids will be having so much fun that they'll never realize they're practicing math.
• Try tangrams. Tangrams are a 7-piece puzzle made up of a square, a parallelogram and various triangles. You can purchase a set (usually made of wood or plastic) at most toy or education stores, or you can find free printable versions online. Younger students will enjoy just making pictures from the shapes, while older students can be given geometric challenges to solve. 
• Roll the dice. For younger students, roll a pair of dice and have them add up the dots. If you have more than one child of similar age, you can introduce a little friendly competition and make it a race to see who can come up with the correct answer first. For older students, increase the number of dice.
• Tackle a Sudoku puzzle together. There are hundreds of Sudoku puzzle books available at bookstores, or you can get free puzzles online. They are available in varying degrees of difficulty, from simple 4-square puzzles for young students to more challenging puzzles for older students and adults.
• Turn cooking into a math game. Make a double batch of cookies to share with your friends or neighbors. Your child can help with doubling the recipe and with dividing the cookies to share. Cookies definitely make math fun. 

Homeschooling math doesn't have to be stressful. When you incorporate homeschool games into your child's math studies, learning math becomes an enjoyable experience for both you and your child.