Simple Math Games(kindergarten-2nd grade)

All of these "Games" are simple, very inexpensive to put together and very engaging!!!

My sons are just barley 6 and 7 and they loved these. We do Math journal style lessons at our house. I have a can(pictured below) that has little folded up pieces of paper in it. Each paper has either a word problem that they can tape in and solve or a "game". The games go back in once the can is empty and I add in new word problems:)

Graphing with Food!

Any math is more fun with food! The only cereal in our house is plain cheerios so this was a big deal:) I bought a cheap box of fruit loops at the dollar store and counted out 20 for each of them. You could also use crackers that come in different shapes or colored goldfish or what ever has some sort of variety:)

I gave them each a sticky note of graphing paper to draw their own graph.

When the graph is done they need to write one sentence about what they observed.

Bowling!!!

This game could be played with a dollar store set like ours or with soda bottles or blocks or whatever:)

 The simplest version of this game is to write 10 on your paper, bowl, and then write -7 or how ever many you knocked down.

Write the answer and then write a new problem and then bowl your second ball. Each turn should have 2 equations unless they get a strike:)

 For Drake(6) we stopped there but for Caden(7) we changed the values of the pins. So for example each pin equals 2 so his equation started with 20. It was a great challenge for him:)

Heads and Tails

Flip a quarter 10 times and tally the results and then go to 20 and as high as you want.

The kids were shocked that all of our results were almost the same!

Again I had  them right a sentence about their observations.

Candy Factors

I steal/save the little packs of skittles and m&ms from the kids Halloween candy. They don't mind because they know I will use them for school and they will get them eventually anyway:)

Start by ripping open a bag and counting them. Write the number on the board and then see how many ways you can split it evenly.

The kids noticed that the same numbers were on both sides of the line, then we graphed them:)

I GOTTA DOLLA!!!!

This is so fun! Put a pile of money in the middle of the table(real or fake or combo like us). The first player rolls 2 dice(or 3 if you want it to go faster or 1 for slower). Every time you roll you have to take the least amount of coins possible. For example if I roll a 7, I can't take seven pennies, I have to take a nickle and 2 pennies. Then you look at you pile and see if there is anything to trade so you have less coins, like if I just got a nickle and I already had a 2 dimes, then I can trade them in for a quarter! The goal is to get to a dollar and when you do you have to wave the dollar around and sing " I GOTTA DOLLA, I GOTTA DOLLA, I GOTTA DOLLA hey hey hey hey!" from little rascals! Keep playing till every one gets a dollar:)

 I have more to post but these should hold you over:) These are all easily adaptable to older and younger kids!