Part-Whole Triangles
The setup
Use number cards 1 to 13. To start, each player is dealt 6 cards face up. There is a draw pile with one card turned over to start a discard pile.
How to play
During a turn, a player takes the top discard card or the unknown top draw pile card. The chosen card replaces a card they already have, and the replaced card is discarded.
How to win
The first player to create a 6-card pyramid where each card is the sum of the two cards below it wins.
Variations
Use smaller or larger ranges of cards to match the skills of younger or older players.
Helping your child
First and foremost, playing math games should be fun, like any other game your family plays together!
Please let your child make poor plays (mistakes) without correction, and resist the urge to tell them the best ways to play. Bit by bit, your child will get better at the game, and they will learn so much more if you let them figure things out. There is no hurry.
If you see your child make a mistake, ask them to describe why they decided to do what they did. If your child is stuck and doesn’t know which play to make, ask them to describe the pros and cons of their choices, or ask them about how they solved a similar situation in the past. If your child doesn’t remember how to do a calculation, discuss with them the methods they know for figuring it out. These conversations are important for helping your child to develop mathematically.
Through math game play and math conversations, you are helping your child learn to enjoy math and develop important problem solving skills!