5 Simple DIY (do it yourself) Math Games

Create DIY ( do it yourself) Math games out of your everyday games at home to teach your kids their mat facts.

Go Fish - (addition)

Use flash cards from 0-10 (3 sets of each number) as your deck of cards. Play "Go Fish" to add numbers up to 10. (Ex: Tim has the number 8, he asks another player for the number 2 because 8+ 2+10.)

Concentration -(addition, subtraction, multiplication, division)

Using index cards make one set of math facts (addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division)writing the math problem on one index card and the answer on another index card.

The object of the game is to find pairs of matching cards in all of the face down cards.

Shuffle the cards and place them face down in rows (like the memory game). The first player turns over two cards. If they match, ( Problem and answer) the player keeps the two cards and takes another turn. The next player continues by trying to find two matching cards. When all cards have been collected, the player with the most pairs wins.

Board Games - Choose any of your kids favorite board games, such as " Candy Land" "Chutes and Ladders", "Sorry," "Monopoly,"or other game. Take post-it notes and write math facts (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) and place them onto the game spaces. Play the game as you usually do, but whenever a player lands on a math space, they must answer the problem correctly before moving forward.

The 1 to 10 Game - (addition)
Supplies Needed : 2 dice, 1 deck of cards, and one other player.

Separate the cards and use only the ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 cards.

Divide the cards into two piles one red and one black. One player takes the red cards, and one takes the black cards.

First player rolls the dice and figures out the sum. Then removes the cards from their hand to add up to that sum. For example, if they roll a 4 and a 2, you can make 6 in several ways (3+3, 2+4, 1+3+2, 6, etc...). If they can't make up the sum with the cards in their hand, they roll again. After three rolls they can't make up the sum in their hand , you lose the game. You win the game if the other player can't make the sum in three rolls or if you use up all of your cards.


Number of the Day - Choose a number for each day and have your child think of a variety of Math problems that the answer is the number of the day..for young children begin with single digit numbers. ( Today is October 31 - 15 + 16 = 31, 50-29 =31 etc.)