C O U N T I N G
C A R D & D I C E G A M E S
Go Fish
Go Fish for 5
A two, three or four-player card game. - Remove Kings, Jacks and cards numbered 6-10. - Queen = 0. Ace = 1. - Each player gets 4 cards - Play just like Go Fish, but instead of looking for matches, look for combinations that make 5. For example: 0+5, 2+3... |
Go Fish for 10
A two, three or four-player card game. - Remove Kings and Jacks. - Queen = 0. Ace = 1. - Each player gets 4 cards. - Play just like Go Fish, but instead of looking for matches, look for combinations that make 10. For example: 2+8, 4+6, 5+5... |
Variations of War
Classic War
A two-player card game for comparing quantities and learning about bigger and smaller numbers. Great for Kindergarten. - Remove the Kings and Jacks. Queen = 0. Ace = 1. (You could also use Uno cards.) - Divide the deck of cards in half and place each pile face down. No peeking! - Each player turns over one card at a time. - Whoever has the higher number keeps both of the cards and places them face down under his/her pile. - If the players both have the same number, that means "war". They must each turn over one more card to find out who will have the highest number and win all the cards from that round. - Whoever gets the most or all of the cards at the end, wins! - Variation: You could also play that the person with the lower number always wins the cards. Dice War
A multi-player game for tallying, skip counting, comparing quantities and possibly addition. Great for Kindergarten and Grade One. - Each player needs 1 or 2 dice, a paper and a pencil. I suggest 1 die for Kindergarten and 2 dice for Grade One (if they are ready for simple addition). - Set a timer for 5, 10 or 15 minutes. - Each player rolls his/her die or dice. Whoever has the highest number gets a point and marks a tally on his/her page. - Remember to group the tally marks by five. - If two players roll the same number or total, they must each roll again to see who will win the point. - Whoever has the most points when the timer goes, wins! |
Addition War
A two-player card game for addition fluency. Great for Grade One or Kindergarteners who are ready for the challenge! - Remove the Kings and Jacks. Queen = 0. Ace = 1. (You could also use Uno cards.) - Divide the deck of cards in half and place each pile face down. No peeking! - Each player turns over two cards at a time and adds up their two cards. - The player with the highest sum keeps all the cards and places them face down under his/her pile. - If the players both have the same sum, that means "war". They must each turn over two more cards each to find out who will have the highest sum and win all the cards from that round. - Whoever gets the most or all of the cards at the end, wins! Subtraction War A two-player card game for subtraction fluency. Great for Grade One or Kindergarteners who are ready for the challenge! - Remove the King and Queen. Jack=0. Ace = 1. (You could also use Uno cards.) - Divide the deck of cards in half and place each pile face down. No peeking! - Each player turns over two cards at a time. - Each player must subtract the smaller number from the bigger number. Whoever has the lowest difference (total after subtracting) keeps all the cards and places them face down under his/her pile. - If the players both have the same difference (total), that means "war". They must each turn over two more cards each to find out who will have the lowest difference and win all the cards from that round. - Whoever gets the most or all of the cards at the end, wins! |
How many am I hiding?
Curriculum Link: Ways to Make 10
- Find 10 objects that will fit in your child's hand all at once. Good options could be coins, dried pasta, or large beads.
- Have your child decide how many objects to put in each hand without you looking. For example, they might put two in one and eight in the other.
- Then they show you their hands. One should be open so you can see the objects. The other should be closed so the objects are hidden. The question of the game is "How many am I hiding?" The player guesses how many might be hiding.
- Open the hand to check and then switch roles to play again.
*Easier Version: Play the same game but make 5 instead of 10.
*Challenge: Can you do a number bigger than 10? How big of a number can you do? (Use a cup or bowl to hide the objects if they no longer fit in a hand.)
*Merci pour le jeu, Mme Penner !
- Find 10 objects that will fit in your child's hand all at once. Good options could be coins, dried pasta, or large beads.
- Have your child decide how many objects to put in each hand without you looking. For example, they might put two in one and eight in the other.
- Then they show you their hands. One should be open so you can see the objects. The other should be closed so the objects are hidden. The question of the game is "How many am I hiding?" The player guesses how many might be hiding.
- Open the hand to check and then switch roles to play again.
*Easier Version: Play the same game but make 5 instead of 10.
*Challenge: Can you do a number bigger than 10? How big of a number can you do? (Use a cup or bowl to hide the objects if they no longer fit in a hand.)
*Merci pour le jeu, Mme Penner !