Math Magic

I write a lot about games that teach.  I believe in teaching through play. I believe in experiences, music, dancing, squishy dough and finger paints, dress-up and dolls, trains and trucks that haul loads and whose tracks meander around our classrooms. 

Our dinosaur studies with Mother Goose Time this month have been full of opportunities for all the "fun"dementals of play and I have been like a kid in a candy store enjoying all the newness each day brings.

There are, however, certain games that make me FLIP!  These games are always an instant hit with our little learners and provide the freedom for organic learning through engaged involvement.

They don't realize the science behind the game.  They don't realize that I am providing these experiences because not only do I know they will LOVE it, but they will be building critical thinking skills and not even realize they are learning.  

​I can actually measure their expertise increase as they play.  

It is magical....

Sigh.....

What makes a game special?

 Dinosaur Dig has all the necessary components of a skill builder at a research level.

As the children move their dinosaurs along the board they begin to recognize key words and letters that clue them in to what the upcoming instruction square is going to say.  Some stated, "Find 1 bone," or "Subtract 2 bones."  These are Emergent Readers striving to learn so they can independently play a game (Language Arts).  

FORGET flashcards!!  Who has time for that???

As they roll the dice they excitedly count from 1-5 along the squares toward an instruction square.  We carefully add and subtract as instructed. Rounding the last square we tally each child's total (math).  

By the end we are BEGGING to reset the board and play again.  We are pointing out the "add" and "subtract" squares and giggling about how many bones we are going to collect THIS time!

This game is built on subject matter that our children love (dinosaurs) with game pieces that easily fit into their hands.  They pick out a new color dinosaur and we discuss it's name each time (science)​.  We have fun conversations about whether it is a "veggie" or "meat" eater as we recall the words "herbivore" and "carnivore".  (Language Arts, Social/Emotional, Science) and we are pretending to be baby birds eating the bones we have collected as we roll and recognize, then put into practical application the numbers displayed on our dice. 

Research is FULL of evidence (just google "how to best teach a preschool child math concepts" and you will find page after page of articles filled with doctoral dissertations about the "how to's" and "why's" and it all boils down to one concept.

Play games...specifically board games with your child.  Have your child attend a preschool that teaches complex and abstract math concepts through stories, songs, and playing board games.  This is what we are proud to promote each day for our little students.

Your child's math brain will grow.  Your child's social/emotional resilience will grow.  Your child's language skills will grow.  

Now...stop reading this wonderful little blog and go play :) !

​As always, I wish you well and I hope you get to play today!  -L