Math Facts Games:
Hop, Skip and Jump
Math
Today's Snack: What hops, and everybody loves it? A bunny rabbit!
So let's make Bunny Food. With a vegetable peeler, peel the outside off a
large, full-size carrot, and discard. Then keep peeling it, and collect the fresh
peels in a bowl. Add a snack-size box of raisins. Stir. Nibble with a tall
glass of fruit juice.
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Supplies:
You need a leader, and any size
group
Pylon or milk jug filled with sand
This is fun to do outside, but works
inside, too
Here's a fun and purposeful way to get
kids moving around, and also mastering their basic math facts. Being able to
rapidly count by numbers other than 1 helps a great deal in the later grades
with multiplication and division.
Form two teams. Line up in two lines,
about 25 feet from a pylon or other target. In this relay, each player will
hop, skip or jump to the pylon, around it, and back, tagging the next player in
his or her team's line. The first team to send all of its players there and
back wins the round.
To play, the leader calls out the first
command: "Hop by 2s!" The first players in each team's line must hop to the
pylon and back. While they hop, they must be counting out loud by 2s with each
hop ("2, 4, 6, 8," etc.).
The leader can change it at any time,
to keep the kids listening and laughing. For example, you can call out "Skip by
4's!" and they have to start skipping and counting out loud by 4's ("4, 8, 12,
16," etc.). That's how each player must move until the leader changes it again.
The leader can call out any way to move
that you like: "Jump by 3's!" "Tiptoe by 5's!" "Crawl by 6's!" "Sidestep by
7's!" and so on. After a few rounds, each team might select a player for a
"Hop-Off" round, one-on-one.
For variety, have the kids hop inside
burlap sacks or large pillowcases. Or fill a plastic cup with water for each
team. Make them carry it and pass it like a baton during their turn. The team
with the most water left at the end is the winner.
