I’ve been helping Early Family Math update their website, and keep happening on materials that I’ve co-created with them, but haven’t thought about in a while.

High on the list of pleasant surprises was this collection of Games for Focused Practice. There’s way more than just a few games there! It’s actually a collection of games, puzzles, quick math breaks, explorations, and other activities that connect very concretely to central topics in the curriculum.

There’s even a little house icon on some of the activities, denoting which ones we recommend sending home as (optional) homework.

Allow me up on my soapbox for a moment to make two points.

1. A lot of homework seems to trigger grownups
   
   Textbooks have certain goals about math that don’t always translate well. Things like “explain this in two ways” and “solve this using this particular way we showed you” are notoriously triggering for adults (and kids!). This is bad press, and we shouldn’t be sending homework like this home if we can help it. What’s a better choice?
2. Games are a better choice.
   As long as the rules are clear, and especially if students can explain to their families, games are a much better option to send home.

   AS LONG AS… the connection to mathematics is clear. If there’s a game that theoretically or abstractly connects to math but that connections is vague or tenuous, adults won’t like it either! But if the games are fun and obviously support mathematical fluency practice, they’re perfect to send home.

Because not only will families be more likely to do them and have a good time, but they also show adults a way to support kids in learning math. Because playing games at home is one of the easiest and best ways to give students a good start in mathematics!

Which brings me back to Games for Focused Practice. This collection for pre-K through 5th grade should give you a ton of great stuff to send home to families, and the connections to math, arithmetic, and the games themselves are immediate. In other words, you can give families a way to support their kids in math at home, and have fun doing it.

Click the link and check it out. You’re welcome.