I am a local teacher specialising in helping children improve their numeracy and maths skills.
I use these games as an enjoyable way to get my students to practise mental arithmetic. They don’t take long (about 5 – 10 minutes) and are very effective, not least because they break the spell of maths seeming to be dull and difficult.
If you want to make the games even faster just ignore the snakes and only climb the ladders.
Equipment : Snakes & ladders board, dice or playing cards 1 to 10.
How to play:
The main rule is have fun. Don’t feel anxious if they make mistakes or work slowly. Let them count on their fingers or write out the calculation if needs be.
Games to play
Addition : Simply roll a dice and work out your new position on the board. Build up to larger jumps by rolling two dice and adding the combined score.
Now use the dice to add 10’s – so a roll of 2 is worth 20. It is surprisingly difficult for some children to add 10’s, so be patient.
Then use 2 dice to add 10’s and 1’s – so a roll of 3 & 5 can be counted as 35 or 53.
Times tables:
When practising times tables I first ask the student to write out the table:
Start by rolling one dice. If you roll a 4 you move 4 X the table you are practising. In the example above you would move 4 X 7 = 28.
One dice will practise the first half of the table. Then move on to rolling two dice and adding to get the combined score. This gives practice up to X 12, and also extends arithmetic practice to combine addition and multiplication practice.
I’ll be suggesting more ideas in the future that could help you and your child enjoy maths. I hope you find them useful.