Halloween Game - Magic Cauldron, Numbers Made Fun

Halloween is fast approaching, for our game journey today we played the Orchard Toys Magic Cauldron Maths Game which was very easy to play.

The object of the game being to fill your cauldron with 'spells' (the answers to maths sums).  Players pick a number from pile, and then finds the sum which equates to the number picked from the pile.

This one will be coming out of the cupboard a lot more now our youngest recognizes his numbers, a really fun way to help him with his basic maths.  Sums include addition, multiplication and subtraction.  On the reverse of each sum is the answer, which when rubbed, reveals itself so the player can match the number they picked from the pile, to the sum, helping to consolidate what has already been learnt.  Younger children can also use this just by matching the numbers, they don't need to have a grasp of the maths sums to play, which is fantastic for families who often can't play a game because it isn't flexible enough for everyone.

A recommended treat, which the boys enjoyed and have also played with friends by themselves, albeit with their own interpretation of the rules ;p

Mad About Maths - Math games combo

Another helping of maths today :)  We bought this a while back of Amazon, and have slowly been devouring the games included.  If you're looking for more games to play based around cards, dominoes and the included boards, then this is a great addition to your maths resources.

It includes 12 pages of games and puzzles ready to use, this is a very colourful book and has games for different abilities.  The front gives a suggested 7-11 age range, (it supports Key Stage 2 learning) but one of the games so far has our 4yo captivated.  For us, games are the way to go for maths and it's led to both our boys wanting more :)  







Title: Mathmatical Games (Mad About Maths)
Authors: Adrian Pinel and Jeni Pinel
ISBN: 1905339186
Author Website: Not Found 

Storm the Castle - A worthwhile freebie quest

Thought I'd share another freebie resource we've used for a while.  It comes as a download which you make up.  Here's the blurb about the game:

Players pretend to be medieval soldiers attacking a castle.  They must cross a field and a bridge using math skills: finding the difference between two numbers, finding coordinates on a grid, finding ways to combine single digit numbers to get teen numbers, and solving simple word problems. 

This game is cooperative, with the competition being against the enemy inside the castle, who continually catapults the soldiers with large rocks they must avoid.  There is plenty of room for imagination and fun while using math skills!   As soon as all the soldiers make it inside the castle, they are allowed to carry off loot (candies or other small treats that were placed inside before the game started).  Providing an edible treat as a reward usually works wonders to motivate kids to finish their tasks!

Both the boys really enjoy playing this, normally I play the enemy inside the castle whilst they co-operatively defeat me, claiming their sweet rewards at the end of a few games.  One to try :)

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