Deal Me In: Math Games with Playing Cards



Welcome Everyone! We love ideas that keep the fun in learning and these ideas do just that! The following three games use a deck of cards and very little other materials making them perfect for quick centers, or math breaks through out the day. The best part, they are so fun and engaging kids will love practicing their math skills.


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Number Match Up


To play:

1. Deal a card out to each participant.
2. Have each participant gather the number of items needed to match the card. Counting cubes, blocks, or small toys all work great for this.
3. Collect all cards, shuffle and pass them back out.
4. Have participants find the pile of objects that match their new cards.
* To burn some energy and add movement into the game, play outside and spread the cards and objects out so that the participants can run around collecting objects and matching their cards.


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Dealing Up Fact Families


To Play:

1. Remove all face cards and aces from the deck. Give each participant an addition, subtraction, and equal sign.
2. Hand out six cards to each player.
3. Set a timer and see how many fact families each player can create in a set amount of time.
4. Shuffle deck and play again.
* To add movement, place the equation signs around the room or outdoor space. Have participants get up and gather a sign each time they are needed.


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Movin' Groovin' Numbers


To Play:

1. Remove all face cards and aces from the deck. Assign each number a movement or action. For example: 2= 2 jumping jacks, 3= 3 hops on one foot, 4= take 4 steps forward. Need some ideas? Check out our movements on our flashcards.
2. Shuffle cards and have each participant pull a card.
3. Collect the cards and call the numbers out. Have participants do each action slowly at first. Each time the numbers are called speed up the actions.


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Want even more math fun? Check out our Numbers and Math DVDs! Jumpin' Numbers Volume 1 and Volume 2, Number Jumble, and Musical Math Volume 1 and Volume 2!








-Heidi


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