Winter Math Games for the Classroom
Now that the winter break is over and you are back in the swing of things and your centers are up and running again, this is the time of year where I am always looking for new math center ideas and winter math games. The winter months can be long and having new winter math games to use in guided math centers or for a fun math day can spice up your routine. Many of these winter math games students might have played before but adding a festive flair with snowman and winter elements makes the games new and exciting again.
BUMP!
This winter math game of BUMP allows two players to play against each other. Each player has different colored cubes or game markers. Players take turns rolling two dice and adding them together. Once player 1 rolls they cover their total with their cube. If they roll that number again on an upcoming turn they may put another cube on top and freeze that spot as theirs and that number is out of the game. If player 2 rolls that number, they cannot place their cube there. If player 2 rolls a number that only has 1 cube from player 1 they may BUMP them off the spot and put their cube. The game is over when all numbers are frozen or if they run out of cubes. The winner is the person with the most frozen spots.
Arctic Roll and Subtract
This Arctic Roll and Subtract game is a winter math game spin-off of the more common roll and game math games. It can be played as a single player or multiple player game. If playing with multiple people, each player need a different colored crayon or marker such as cubes. Player 1 spins the penguin spinner first and then the polar bear one. They subtract the polar bear number from the penguin number and then marks off the number they got. The game is over when all spots are colored in. This winter math game is perfect for hitting on subtraction concepts that many of our students struggle with in 1st grade.
Snowball Fight Winter Math Game
Snowball fight is a fun game for 2 -4 players. I have included differentiated packs working on adding number 1-5 and then working on number 10-15. This winter math games is perfect for kindergarten and 1st graders. Once all the cards are printed and cut, make a pile of the cards with addition facts and the Snowball FIGHT cards face down. The cards with number 1-5 or if you are playing the teen number game the number 10-15, should be set above the pile face up. These are the sum cards and need to be seen the entire time. Player 1 starts and pulls a card from the pile. They add the numbers and place the card on the correct sum. Player 1 continues with their turn, pulling cards and adding until they get the card SNOWBALL FIGHT. Their turn stops and the next player takes over. The snowball fight card can be put to the side. The game continues rotating through players until the card pile is done. ** If you wanted to differentiate this game for a single student, you can take away the SNOWBALL fight cards and set a timer for a minute. The students challenge could be how many cards could they solve in 1 minute.
Winter Math Game Fun
I hope these winter math games add a little excitement into your math centers. These are great guided math games to work on addition and subtraction in the classroom. If you are a 1st grade teacher, like me, you know that addition and subtraction are most of the math skills taught in 1st grade and it is essential that students are good at quickly adding and subtraction. All the games can be differentiated for different skills and abilities. If you are unsure on how to use the activity or need an idea to help differentiate, please contact me and I would be happy to brainstorm ideas with you.
This is just the tip of the iceburg. For more winter math game ideas visit the Logic Roots blog.
