Chalk Circle Game: Outdoor Math Game (For anything from Addition thru PreAlgebra!!)

The weather is gorgeous, so once again it was time to take advantage of the lovely temperatures, get active, and practice some math!

For this game we drew a giant circle out of chalk and put numbers into each space all around the circle. Which numbers? We wrote down the numbers as we skip counted by 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s. (2 thru 20, 3 thru 30, 4 thru 40 and 5 thru 50) We used about 40 spaces.  If there were extra spaces, I filled them in with any number.

When we first went outside, I had assigned each of the kids a different number (2, 3, 4 or 5). They had to skip count, running around the circle and finding the numbers as quickly as possible!  That sure got the kids going! Then they were ready for some problem solving.

The best thing about the Chalk Circle Game, is that it can be used for any math fact practice.  So, my three kids had different problems to solve.

• ED (age 7) used it for skip counting and multiplication practice. (2s, 3s, 5s)
• DD (age 9) used it for division practice.
• LD (age 12) used it for some Order of Operations/Pre-Algebra practice.
• If you have younger kids you could use this for addition or even for number recognition if you have a preschooler.

So, here’s how we used the Chalk Circle:  The kids were given a stack of math cards.  I set the timer for three minutes and the kids tried to solve as many problems as they could… They figured out the answer to their problem and left the card on that number. After three minutes, everyone had to stop.  I checked their answers. Then the next round began.  This time they had to try to beat their own score (solving more problems or going faster than the time before).

This game was a HUGE hit!

The kids used cards I made and printed out for them.  I shared the Order of Operations cards in another post earlier today. The picture below gives you idea of what our cards looked like, but you can even just jot the problems down on an index cards! 🙂

Math Monster: Afterwards, we used those same cards to play Math Monster… essentially Freeze Tag with math cards!  I put down about five cards for each student randomly out in the yard.  I’m “IT.”  I counted down from 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and then started chasing the kids.  They have to try to pick up a card and have it solved mentally before I freeze them.  If I tag them and they either don’t have a card or answer their problem incorrectly, they are frozen (until someone else tags them and frees them). If they can tell me the answer to their card, then they are not frozen.   If I can freeze all three kids before they run out of cards, I win!!

But honestly, we all win because the kids BEG to play more.  It sure makes math practice a hit!

If you’re in the mood for some other Active Math Games this week, be sure to check out this post:

• 4 Active Math Games

So that’s it for now! See you again soon here or over at our Homeschool Den Facebook Page! ~Liesl