Our 5 Favorite Math Games for Second Graders

Parents often claim that they have difficulty helping their kids with math. It’s no wonder – if you think back to the subjects that you had trouble with in school, chances are that math is at the forefront. You probably began experiencing problems as early on as second grade math. But you don’t have to see your kids suffer through math the way you did.

Math can be fun – and with math games for second graders and up, you’ll be able to help your kids, and maybe even improve your own math skills!

Be Involved

The key to success in second grade math is parental involvement and engagement. You have high expectations for your child’s performance, but you have to show that you have a good attitude toward math so that your kids won’t fear it – they’ll be more confident in their ability to succeed. In short, you have to be a full participant.

Why You Should Help Your Child With Math

You could leave your child alone to fail or succeed depending on the whims or abilities of his teacher. Or, you could help him at home, where he can learn from the person he most respects (YOU) in a familiar environment. You can help your child to learn that math isn’t just something to be learned in school – it’s something that he’ll use every day of his life.

Make it Fun

Learning math doesn’t have to be painful. You can play games with your child that will help him to learn key concepts. You have a young mind that’s just ready to be formed, and with fun second grade math games, you’ll give your child an edge over other kids who might not have parents who know about these great games.

1) Snakes and Ladders

This is such an easy game – and you can buy it in any toy store. You probably played it when you were a kid, and it’s one of the best math games for second grade. Roll the dice, land on a snake or ladder, and move up or down depending on where you land. You can switch it up if you like for older kids – play “what if” – what if you landed on a snake, but you multiplied your loss by say three or four? What if you rolled the dice to find your multiplier? You get the idea. This game can be as easy or as complex as you want to make it.

2) Multiplication War

You probably also played war when you were a kid. You and your child shuffle a deck of cards, and whoever gets the higher card takes both. With Multiplication War, there’s a twist – you take out all the face cards, and the ace has a value of one. Whoever shouts out the result of the multiplication of the two cards gets both. The winner has either won all the cards, or has most of them after a designated period of time has passed.

3) Make 10

This is similar to Multiplication War in that all the face cards are removed and the ace is worth one. Each player is dealt 12 cards, and then tries to make as many possible combinations that will equal ten. Whoever makes the most combinations of ten, wins.

4) Pig

This game requires the use of dice. Each player rolls a pair of dice, and adds them together. He or she can roll as many times as desired, adding until he’s done. But if he rolls two ones in any turn, he gets zero. The game is over when a player reaches 100.

5) Beat That

With this game, players take turns rolling the dice, and after each turn, the player tries to come up with the largest possible number. For instance, if a player rolled a six, a two and a five, the player’s largest number would be 652. Then, the player challengers the other player to beat their score. This is a very flexible game, because players can decide how many rolls they’ll play in any given round.

Most of the time, “Beat That” players will go three rounds, but they can go as many as they like. Kids who are in second grade math might only want to go up to four rounds.

These are our 5 favorite math games for second graders. Perhaps you have others?