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Tag Archives: Math activities for kids

Exciting Math Games For Movement And Learning

If you are stuck at home and want to find fun and engaging ways to sneak in some math I have your back! I have gathered some fun home math games that you can do with your children (mostly toddler and preschooler level) that require minimum preparation and are fun for all. The idea behind this post is not to have an extensive list of activities but rather to collect just a few different games to sneak in some learning. The home math games I have selected get your kids moving and learning at the same time and require materials that you have at home or that can easily be replaced. I even hope that they might inspire you to create your own games with the materials you have at home. I have also added some observations and suggestions for each activity on how you can guide the learning and make it an educational experience. So keep reading and reconnect with your family through play. 

1. Math Twister from Math Geek Mama

stay at home math STEM

A fun twist on Twister! This is a great opportunity to get your children moving a bit and sneaking in some adding practice. If your child is still too young for adding you can just do it with number recognition in the following way: 

  • Each time you play you can let each color represent different numbers (for example, 1 to 4 the first time you play 5 to 8 the next time)
  • Cover the circles on the mat with the numbers and then start playing
  • Use the spinner or just call out numbers and body parts: this is a great way to be creative and mix it up especially if your kids don’t know right from left so just go with the flow and don’t be afraid to call out elbow to 3! 

If you don’t have the game of Twister at home you can make it yourself! It is pretty simple to make but here are a few suggestions to include your kids. You can also just prepare everything yourself and have it as a surprise for them: 

  • Collect colored paper (If you don’t have colored paper just plain paper and color it yourself): 6 red, 6 green, 6 blue and 6 yellow
  • Optional: Outline the number for each color on the paper and have your kids trace the numbers with whatever you have (colored pencils, paint, stickers). You can also do this yourself
  • Optional: Let your kids cut around the numbers
  • Tape the numbers to the floor and start the fun!
  • I plastified the numbers to be able to use more than once and for other games on this post (takes a bit longer but is worth the effort)

The good thing about making it yourself is you can use the numbers for the other games or find other ways to use them. You can also make it smaller for smaller kids! Also, if you are making this yourself you can create a “shapes twister”. Instead of having each color represent a number have each color be a shape! Square, circle, triangle and rectangle.

 2. Number Swat from Aussie Childcare Network

stay at home math STEM

Fun and fast paced game that will help your children with number recognition! If you don’t have enough fly swatters at home you can just use your hands to slap the number. You can make your own number cards:

  • My suggestion would be to have the numeral (1,2,3…) on one side and dots on the other side so you can change it around. 
  • Additionally it is best to color-code each different number. So for example, all ones are green and all twos are red and so on. Color coding will help your child learn and remember things easier. 
  • If you don’t have dice, prepare additional number cards that you can flip

3. Snowball Math Game from frugalfun4boys

stay at home math STEM

Great game to get your kids moving around and learning math! I love this one and it is very well explained and even offers cards to print. If you don’t have enough baskets or don’t have snowballs here are my suggestions:

  • If you don’t have baskets use shoe boxes, pots, empty some drawers… I’m sure you can find things around your house
  • If you don’t have snowballs the writer recommends using rolled up socks! Great idea! 

4. Shape race from the web (I have not been able to find the original source)

The link for this game is just a photograph. I have not been able to find the original source but it is quite clear how you can prepare and play this game:

Preparation: 

  • Collect 4 sets of colored paper or color your own paper
  • For each color, cut out a shape (square, circle, triangle, and rectangle)
  • Make a big dice: click here for a tutorial for making paper dice
  • You have four shapes and six sides on the dice so here are a few suggestions for what you could put on those extra sides: 
    • All shapes on both extra
    • Two shapes on one side and the other two on the other one (for example, circle and square on one side and triangle and rectangle on the other)

Play: 

  • Choose a shape and stand at the beginning
  • Roll the dice
  • First one to the end wins!

That’s it for now! I hope you enjoyed this round-up and that you have found some inspiration for some fun Stay At Home Math! Get your kids moving and learning and reconnect as a family.

More Fun Activities and Games:

  • Movement and 5 Senses Scavenger Hunt
  • Stay At Home Discover: Fun Ways To Use Straws
  • STEM Game: The Sound and Feel of Materials
  • DIY Math Game with Playdough
  • STEM challenge: The Tower of Random Things
  • Sensory STEM jello experiment 

Make sure to Bookmark the Stay At Home STEM post which will be updated with all our fun STEM activities that are perfect for doing at home.

stay at home math STEM
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Hi! We are Anni and Stefan, a mix of engineering with a dash of education and a pinch of social work, blended together and turned into parents who have a passion for creating lightbulb moments. We want to help you bring STEM learning into your home in a way that is fun, educational and challenging enough so that children can develop their thinking skills. ♥

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astemfulmind

Anni | STEM + Nature Learning
Salt dough FOOTPRINTS 🐾 I prepared some footpr Salt dough FOOTPRINTS 🐾
I prepared some footprints out of salt dough and hid them in the forest for the kids to find. The older kids (5 and 6) like scavenger hunts and being on a mission so I even prepared a map and marked the spots where they could find the footprints. 
I didn't tell them what they were looking for so there was a lot of excitement each time they found one, and a lot of conversation about what it could be. There was also teamwork, the older ones found the spot and allowed the younger ones to find the footprint. 
Once they had gathered them all, and had realized what they were, I brought out the animal cards and asked them if they could match them. There was problem solving and discussions, they looked at the different feet/paws and tried to imagine what kind of print they would leave.
To wrap up the activity, I offered them the chance to make their own mud print or follow their own interests. There was a choice, most kids played in the mud with no plan in mind and some made a print and then went off to find something else to do. 
And then all of a sudden, there was stillness. Each child absorbed in their own play. Focused, connected, happy. And I stayed still too, not daring to disturb the magic of free play 💚🐾🌿
The power of reflection 🌿✨ Being able to tak The power of reflection 🌿✨
Being able to take time to reflect on any situation is so important and such a valuable skill for kids to learn.
It is through reflection that we can truly understand what happens around us and how things work. Questions like what went well? Or what went wrong? And deepening these with why? Or what could we have done better? What would happen if we change something? They all lead to discovery and critical thinking. 
And this reflective process keeps us learning about the world around us and about ourselves. It drives us to want to know more, to deepen our knowledge, to try out new things. 
Reflection should be a key component of any learning environment. And it is a lovely way to bring closing to the experience. I've been holding my own Forest School sessions and a lot goes on in them but one of my favorite parts is the reflection at the end.
The children's wonder, attention to detail, curiosity and way of looking at the world will never cease to amaze me. We first find a special spot in nature and take a moment to ourselves, to think, observe, feel and reflect. Then we come together and share (if we want to and without judgement). We start simple, maybe something we liked, and we build on it (I bring in a bit of what I observe throughout the session) and most of the time the conversation will go towards what we learned.
And this is where connections are built, the learning from their hands-on experience is deepened by this simple reflective process and this reflection becomes a practice and this practice is a key driver of life-long learning and critical thinking ✨🌱
Where will the marble roads take you? 🚗🚦🚧 Where will the marble roads take you? 🚗🚦🚧 🧱
One day we set out to make some mazes or marble runs with clay. I thought my kids would each want to do their own but it ended up being a team project and I'm so glad it went that way! Our project turned into Marble city, with roads and many more fun things along the way. 
I drew a road with a start and a finish, a few loops here and there and some intersections so that they could cover it with clay. And then I just let their imagination take the lead. The beauty of open-ended activities and resources is you never know where it will take you. There were trees, mountains, tunnels, bridges and even stop lights! And after it was created there was imaginative play, role play and a lot of marble traffic!
It was fascinating to observe my kids build a world from clay and other resources we had around the house. The process of building it was play and then that play was extended and transformed by actually playing in the world they created 🧡
It is also definitely something that can be done outside. We did it out on our terrace but I'm excited to try it out in nature where there are even more open-ended resources!! 🌿🌰🍂🌸🪨
Learning new things ✨🥰 I have started a new Learning new things ✨🥰
I have started a new journey, training to be a Forest School Leader. I am not exactly sure in which direction it will take me but it was something that felt right. 
The ethos of Forest school and the role of the reflective practitioner just resonates with me, the outdoor, simple and slow child-led playful learning community. It is what I try to do with my own children and it's wonderful to extend and consolidate everything that I have learned over the last years into something that will serve me and my family as well as other families with children. 
I am very excited to show you how I adapt the Forest School practice to my parenting. We have already created some pretty cool indoor shelters, hammocks for dolls with ropes and cloth, and continue to use our natural materials for child-led experiments and activities. I am also learning to observe my children better and reflect on their needs and interests, which is key to their holistic growth and development.
Hope you find this as inspiring as I do and follow along for some reflections and of course for the nature play and wonder 💚🧡
The wonder of simple experimentation ✨ When you The wonder of simple experimentation ✨
When you let the child lead you never know what will happen. Sometimes nothing really happens, and that's ok too. But then there are times when you bring out some materials and "tools", add a bit of water and you suddenly have a full on experiment station on your hands!
I saved some pumpkin seeds from a pumpkin I had baked, thinking they might come in handy some time. I didn't have anything in mind, but when my 5-year-old said she wanted to do an experiment I offered them to her. 
She directly asked for water to check if pumpkin seeds sink or float. So we gathered water, some containers and a few extra tools (just some kitchen utensils). Turns out some actually sink and others float! We discussed why this might be happening and then I asked her if she thought she could find a way to separate them with the tools we had… this led to some critical thinking, some trial and error and a lot of experimentation and conversations. She was engaged, on a mission, and she had initiated the experiment herself. 
💜 I love watching these moments unfold and they just further convince me that experiments don't need to come with flashy reactions, or bright colors. They can be simple, like this one. Experiments should make us think, tickle our minds with questions about what we see and drive us to test possibilities that will reveal answers, solutions or rethink our questions. And childhood is full of moments like these if you look close enough.
The art of noticing the small details 🐚✨ A s The art of noticing the small details 🐚✨
A simple activity with natural materials and a magnifying glass. I just set this up on the table and we started looking at each material and paying attention to what we could see. It made us think and wonder about patterns, irregularities and just other things we might not notice otherwise. 
We learned to pay attention to details and that things might look different depending on how close you look. And these observations lead to questions and these questions lead to a search for answers, discovery, learning. 
And all it takes is a magnifying glass and some nature 🤎🧡
DIY OOBLECK BLOCKS 🧱🌽💧 These Oobleck blo DIY OOBLECK BLOCKS 🧱🌽💧
These Oobleck blocks are so easy to make and were a perfect addition to our dry Oobleck play as it gave us the chance to build structures and create small worlds. 
Materials you'll need:
🌽Cornstarch
💧Water
🧊Ice trays
🧘‍♀️Patience
To prepare the Oobleck you mix 2 parts cornstarch to 1 part water. If you have never tried Oobleck you are in for a fun treat! It is a great sensory experience for kids and really engaging as it behaves both like a solid or fluid depending on the pressure it's under. 
Once you are done experimenting with Oobleck try filling some ice cube trays with it and then let it dry (it can take some days, which can be tricky for little kids but is also a great opportunity to practice patience).
❗A lot of ours cracked and broke so make sure you prepare enough. We made 3 trays.
🧱 That's it! We crushed some of the broken blocks and used the other ones to create, nurturing some STEM skills through play. 
For more ideas for STEM and nature play follow along!
"If children are to keep alive their inborn sense "If children are to keep alive their inborn sense of wonder… they need the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world we live in." Rachel Carson
These words truly resonate with me.
Sharing the path of learning and discovery with our children is so beneficial and not only for our kids. It is so positive for us too! It reawakens our inner child, our own sense of wonder. It allows us to slow down, to play. 
We explore together, we seek out the answers to our questions, we experiment and play, we struggle to find solutions, we persevere and through these experiences we learn. About the world, about each other, about ourselves, giving us the chance to bond over something beautiful.
👉 Follow along for inspiration on family activities that nurture curiosity and drive learning
Have you ever let Oobleck dry? ☀️ Letting Oob Have you ever let Oobleck dry? ☀️
Letting Oobleck dry is the best way to clean it up but it also gives you the chance to use it again in a different way. 
I like to leave it in a tray or cooking pan so it spreads out and dries faster. Once it's dry you can just poke it and scrape it out.
It crumbles and cracks nicely between your fingers and has a lovely texture that my kids (and I) really enjoy.
You can keep it dry or combine it again with water to get the gooey, slimy, and fascinating Oobleck back.
👉 I'm also testing a different way to use dry Oobleck so make sure you stay tuned!
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