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Show HN: Silly math games to make learning fun for K through 3rd grade

mindlygames.com

81–90 of 110 posts

Re: Show HN: Silly math games to make learning fun for K through 3rd grade

#81

My 14 year old son was frustrated with "Fun" math games as they were not really fun. So he started building his own games in p5.js and recently he launched these games at https://thegamebox.ca/ He has been making these games since he was 10yo, so there is a progression in quality. Last game he made is not a math game but a puzzle game (Red Remover) he used to play and love when he was very young and was no longer ava…

Just played through all the levels of Red Remover. Those were fun. Kudos to your son for not just making games but sharing them. At 14 I was just grinding away at World of Warcraft... didn't even touch programming or making games myself until I was in college.

Re: Show HN: Silly math games to make learning fun for K through 3rd grade

#82
post #26

Is there any evidence, from the academic literature or otherwise, that math games improve educational outcomes? (Sorry, I know that sounds like a wet blanket statement and I am not discouraging the OP from trying to make an impact here. I am just curious.) Also, I tried to play a couple of games (e.g., https://www.mindlygames.com/game/skip-counting-by-5-dino-soa... ), but it has been stuck "loading" for the entire du…

The key thing is that they encourage kids to willingly spend time learning. https://www.wired.com/2012/06/dragonbox/ is a good article on the author's experience with a similar game and their kid

Thank for sharing, that's a great article!

Re: Show HN: Silly math games to make learning fun for K through 3rd grade

#83

My 14 year old son was frustrated with "Fun" math games as they were not really fun. So he started building his own games in p5.js and recently he launched these games at https://thegamebox.ca/ He has been making these games since he was 10yo, so there is a progression in quality. Last game he made is not a math game but a puzzle game (Red Remover) he used to play and love when he was very young and was no longer ava…

That's pretty awesome :) thank you for sharing!

Re: Show HN: Silly math games to make learning fun for K through 3rd grade

#84

My daughter is in 1st grade and really enjoys playing blackjack with me(Dad). It's an amazing metaphor for addition and gives some good entrypoints for talking about probability and decision making. We play for candy. Surprisingly she hasn't eaten any of it yet. She seems to be balancing her desire to beat dad by having more candy and her desire to eat candy. It's been great bonding time too. Next up, a similar game…

This is amazing because I just started doing exactly the same thing with my 1st grader with similar results. She loves it so much more than the terrible worksheets she comes home with.

Re: Show HN: Silly math games to make learning fun for K through 3rd grade

#85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just curious, what is cool, captivating and educational to you? Love to know.

One of the ideas - introduction to math equations as 3D graphics game with effects. I haven't seen such games, except silly, that do that. Maybe some other foundational math principles implemented as games. I love https://www.zachtronics.com/ games, but these games are for 12+ I guess, and even more. Not always about math though. Adults assume that kids are fine with silly educational tools. While in reality they're…

Which app?

Re: Show HN: Silly math games to make learning fun for K through 3rd grade

#86

My 14 year old son was frustrated with "Fun" math games as they were not really fun. So he started building his own games in p5.js and recently he launched these games at https://thegamebox.ca/ He has been making these games since he was 10yo, so there is a progression in quality. Last game he made is not a math game but a puzzle game (Red Remover) he used to play and love when he was very young and was no longer ava…

Please tell your son these are super cool games! Thanks so much for sharing and it’s amazing he made these.

Re: Show HN: Silly math games to make learning fun for K through 3rd grade

#87

Cool stuff! I'm actually in the process of writing a game for my nephew, who is turning 9. My game is going to be more about going to school and encourage him to have fun learning and socialising; perhaps shooting zombies, protecting/getting power-up from the school, collecting books for points. He lives in a poor household where the mother doesn't want to do anything that isn't life-or-death. The kids (he's oldest o…

Please share when your done. That’s really cool that you are building a game for him. I love the “stay in school” message, too.

Re: Show HN: Silly math games to make learning fun for K through 3rd grade

#88
post #78

This looks neat, thanks for sharing! Any comments on what resources you used to tailor the games to a specific grade level?

I used to be a kindergarten and first grade teacher and my go to is the standards. They are a great starting point for skills by grade level:)

Re: Show HN: Silly math games to make learning fun for K through 3rd grade

#89
post #65

Some additional consequences for just trying all the answers - or a mode where there are, if you've got a kid who will just click on them all instead of thinking.

That’s a good point and something we need to figure out a response to in the game play.

Re: Show HN: Silly math games to make learning fun for K through 3rd grade

#90
post #66

Thanks for sharing. Im always on the lookout for good teaching aids. Unfortunately I find this too stimulating for me to present to my kids. I prefer to show my kids media that is calming and beautiful rather than "fun".

No worries at all. Have you heard of dreambox for math? You might like their games:)
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