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Games for Life

6 Board Games That Teach Math & Money Skills

Article by Kimberly Blaker

Photography by Provided

Originally published in Boise Lifestyle

Kids learn many concepts throughout childhood in preparation for the adult world. When adults think of learning, it is often thought of as an unpleasant experience of boring lessons, memorization, and testing. These methods are not always conducive to learning authentic information and understanding important concepts. Math is one of kids' least-loved subjects for this very reason. But it doesn't have to be that way.

Children learn the most in both quality and quantity when done naturally through play. Board games take the pressure and frustration out of learning essential topics like math and money by presenting them in an enjoyable format. Kids of all ages can benefit from board games that teach through play. The following board game selection makes learning math and money concepts more fun from preschool to high school.

1.   HI-HO CHERRY-O     

Hi Ho! Cherry-o is an excellent game for children to naturally practice counting, addition, and subtraction skills. The concept is simple as each player spins to see how many fruit pieces to pick or remove from their basket..  Ages 3-6

2.  SUM SWAMP

Sum Swamp helps players become more fluent in addition and subtraction as they try to safely cross the swamp. Special spaces like evens, odds, and numbers add an extra challenge. Funny swamp creatures make it extra fun. Ages 5+

3. MATHOLOGICAL LIAR

Mathological Liar is a detective game solving mysteries using math. Each player gets a suspect card and determines if the math in their alibi is correct, meaning innocence; or incorrect, meaning guilty. There are boxes grade levels 2-6. Ages 6+.

4.  MANAGING MY ALLOWANCE

Managing My Allowance teaches money management and budgeting. Players make choices about spending and saving the money they earn. The game uses play cash for players to handle as they count out changes to their total and try to save money for college. Ages 8+

5.  PROOF!

Proof! works for a wide range of ages and abilities to support mental math practice. The dealer lays down nine cards while players create an equation out of at least three available cards. It can be made more or less challenging with variations on the basic game and can even be played solo. Ages 9+

6.  STOCK-EXCHANGE GAME

The Stock Exchange Game teaches players about the stock market and related concepts during strategy-based play with three levels for varying difficulty. The game uses play money and stock coins along with extras like world event cards that affect results. Ages 10+

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