By Mark Hendrickson

To teach our kids to become passionate and capable readers, we read to them. Whether at bedtime, at the library, or in the classroom, early childhood years are often infused with stories. The silly voices, questions, laughing, and wonder that result from story time make reading feel less like a lesson and more like play — while at the same time laying a foundation for successful reading and writing for years to come. 

Helping our kids love math shouldn’t feel like a lesson either. We can teach them foundational math and problem-solving skills by playing games. During play, we can model problem solving behaviors like how to ask good questions and persevere through difficulty, all while practicing basic math skills. And, just like story time, these games can be incredibly fun! 

So, how can you find games that meet the dual criteria of “fun” and “educational”? 

Beast Academy Playground is a fantastic solution; it’s a curated collection of FREE math games for parents and early childhood educators for students ages 4 and up to play with. Each game has a short explanatory video, notes on the math and problem-solving skills involved, and ideas for adapting the game to the needs and interests of each student. 

Search games by age or topic. You’ll also find crafts, magic tricks, and other activities that little hands will love.

4 Ways to Make Game Time Fun and Educational 

Here are four things parents/caregivers or educators can do to help encourage and model good problem solving with a child.

Wonder

Educators and parents are the perfect people to demonstrate an attitude of inquisitiveness and wonder. So, ask questions as you go, and don’t worry if you don’t know the answer. 

It’s especially important to show we aren’t afraid to ask hard questions, ones whose answers are complex and difficult. By building this fearlessness, we help our kids become fearless engineers, coders, mathematicians, scientists, and other perseverant problem-solvers in adulthood. 

Here are some questions you might ask when playing Beast Academy Playground games: 

• What’s the best move? 
• What are the chances I’ll roll a 5? 
• Can this game end in a tie? 
• How does that trick work? 
• Why do I keep losing?!

Investigate

When students ask authentic questions, they’ll want to find answers. It doesn’t matter if a method doesn’t feel “scientific” or “mathematical” enough. Problem-solving is about finding efficient, reliable methods, not doing it the “right way.” Any organized approach might result in figuring something out. That’s a big part of what STEM really is: finding an approach to fit each problem. 

To model this attitude, here are some things you might say as you play: 

• Let’s try this game on a smaller board. 
• Let’s try this game with only two pieces. 
• Let’s see what happens if I start on this space instead.

Beast Academy Playground has Learning Notes after each activity. Don’t worry if some of these notes are too advanced for your student or class. A 5-year old will learn different things playing one of our games than a 15-year old, and the Learning Notes are sometimes directed more at one group than another. 

Notice

When a student has an insight, acknowledge it. Echo back what they say, and help them clarify their own thinking. You might say something like: “Oh, so you noticed that…” 

Then, ask them how they figured it out, and to explain their reasoning. You might ask: “Why is that?” 

Adapt

If a game isn’t working for a student, change the rules! Try something different. (That’s what we did as we developed these games!) 

Adjust the difficulty of a game so the student can enjoy it or look for a different game. If your variation works, great; If not, figure out why together. If a student becomes captivated just drawing the game board, there’s no need to rush in to play the game. It’s good to discover interesting questions and find new insights where we don’t expect to. 

As a starting point to adaptations, Beast Academy Playground has suggested “Variations” after each activity. 

35+ Games, Activities, Crafts and More 

Just getting started? Here are some of our staff picks from the Beast Academy Playground collection.  

• Cartographer – A coloring game based on a classic math problem
• Wrecking Ball – A pendulum-swinging game of simple addition and subtraction
• Carronade – A symmetry paper-and-pencil game
• Blind Heist – A counting and comparing strategy game

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Developed by the global leaders in K-12 advanced math education, Beast Academy Playground builds problem-solving skills and confidence in students ages 4+. We know how important these skills are in our own elementary curriculum and in STEM education in general. 

Add playful problem solving into your student’s routine: Explore our free collection of math games and activities at Beast Academy Playground. 

About the author

Mark Hendrickson is the Sr. Math Curriculum Developer at Art of Problem Solving.

This article was originally published by The Learning Counsel, a research institute and news media hub focused on providing context for the shift in education to digital curriculum.