War – Single-Digit Comparing
The setup
Remove the cards from two, four, or six Number Decks outside your child’s comfort range. Split the cards evenly in two piles face down.
How to play
Flip over the top cards and the player with the larger card keeps both cards. If the cards match, flip the next two cards and the winner gets all four cards.
How to win
The player with the most cards after one or more runs through all the cards is the winner.
Variations
To change things up, sometimes play that the smaller of the two cards wins.
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!