Family Game Night Favorites to Sharpen Math Skills

Guess what?! It’s officially SPRING BREAK season!! I say season because depending on your school district and where you live in the country your Spring Break could fall anywhere in between the first week in March and the second week in April. This week out of school is a fun time to enjoy some rest and relaxation, but if boredom strikes or the weather keeps you indoors may we suggest some old-fashioned family game time?!

And while you’re at it, you can sneak in some math practice as well. Check out these classic board games that will have your student doing math and enjoying it!

1. Monopoly

Monopoly is the OG family board game and whether or not you have ulterior math skill motives, you should ensure that it survives another generation and play it with your kid!  As they play your student will get in extra practice counting money as well as adding and subtracting money.  Let them be the banker and they will get in even more practice as they collect and pay fees and have to make change for the other players.

2. Yahtzee

Yahtzee is another classic fun family game that is jam packed with math!  Every roll of the dice requires and improves subitizing skills (identifying the number of things in a set quickly without taking the time to count).  In addition, your student’s critical thinking will be activated as they try to determine the best option for their roll.  The Yahtzee score sheet itself is a math teacher's dream that requires adding upon adding upon adding!  The best part is kids usually want to be the scorekeeper!

BONUS

Need multiplication fact practice? Just grab the dice from your Yahtzee game and print out this FREE Multiplication Yahtzee score card and you are all set. There are two versions included, one with multiplication facts 1-6 and the other with multiplication facts 7-12. If you're a teacher, this is a great game to play in the classroom as well!

3. The Game of LIFE

I don’t know about you but as a kid there was nothing that quite compared to spinning that colorful wheel, picking your career and setting off as a tiny peg in your plastic car on the gameboard of LIFE.  This classic family game also works in math skills with players having to keep track of their money by taking out and paying loans, paying taxes, adding in a salary on Pay Days, paying bills and other incomes and expenses that we all encounter as adults in LIFE.

4. Dominos

Finally beating out an adult in a game of dominos is a rite of passage in our family! Winning requires the ability to add & subtract quickly as players try to figure out which domino to lay down that will result in a multiple of 5 to score. The ultimate classic, this fast-paced game will put your student's fact fluency to the test!

You can never go wrong prioritizing some quality family time!  If it’s a board game your kid wants to play, then make it (and them) count!