Resource Wednesday - Math Link Roundup

I wanted to share with you a roundup of some of my favorite homeschool math resources.  I've got some great links to share with you today.

1) The Imagination Counting Machine - I love this idea.  While we didn't make a counting machine per-se we did something similar to this when we were teaching our daughter to add.  I can think of a number of different ways you could decorate this or make it out of different materials.  Instead of PomPoms you could feed cars or Legos into it, small rocks, small shells, or anything else that interests your child.

2) IXL Math - There are so many homeschool math activities for your kids to do on this site.  If you're putting together a homeschool math curriculum all on your own, this site is a great help.

3) Kindergarten Math Test (and ideas) - If you're just starting Kindergarten with your student and aren't sure what types of things they'll be learning, have a look at this sample math test to get a few ideas.  You might also check out this end of year Kindergarten Math assessment (goes up to 5th grade) and this end of year Kindergarten math test you can print out.  These should help give you an idea of what they should be learning and working towards for math.

4) Monster Math - This is a fun activity for kids that are just learning addition.  They get to add up things like "my monster has 1+3 eyes" and then draw the monster their math is making.  Instead of printing it out you can modify it by writing it out by hand for whatever math your child is learning.  Example, "My monster has x+3=-1 eyes."

5) Factor Samurai App - This game is currently free on Kindle Fire and I think older kids learning their timestables will have a blast with it.  It's reminiscent of the popular game fruit ninja, only they've given it a clever and educational twist.   The player plays a samurai whose sacred duty is to cut all the numbers down to their prime factors.  For younger learners such as Kindergarten you might want to check out the Lola's Math Train App, my daughter had a lot of fun with it.  It has 3 different levels all centered around pre-school and Kindergarten math.

6) PBS Math Games - A math roundup list just wouldn't be complete without a link to PBS math games.  These games are free and meant for younger children.  You'll have to look around and try them out to find out which ones your children have fun with and which ones fit with the current type of math you're learning.  For skip counting by 5's my daughter really likes this Curious George game.

7) Math Clocks Game - This is a fun game that can help your child practice telling time.

8) 2D and 3D Shapes Game - My daughter loves dragging these shapes to their place on real world objects.  I always sit with her when she plays it and ask her to tell me the shape name before she drags it into place.

9) Pattern Game - This is a simplistic pattern game where kids get through an easy maze by following a pattern.  I would recommend this game for ages 3-5.

10) Calendar Game - If months of the year, days of the week, and counting are a part of your pre-school or homeschool Kindergarten curriculum this will be a fun game for your younger students.  If you want to make a physical calendar with your kids each month, check out our free calendar printable.

11) Plastic Pattern Blocks - Most pre-school and Kindergarten classrooms in public and private schools have these, and there's good reason.  First they're a lot of fun for children ages 4-6, second they're a great manipulative, third they can make all sorts of patterns with them, fourth they're great for teaching shape names, and finally they're great for teaching pattern recognition and setting up patterns for kids to complete or fill in empty spaces.  This is the set we bought and love.  I had purchased a wooden set previously from a different and had to return it because it smelled like chemicals.  The plastic ones we bought are well used and loved though.  They're thick enough to pick up, the colors are bright, and they fit most pattern pages we've printed from the internet.

Do you have more fun math resources you want to share with us?  Let us know in a comment below!

Also, don't forget to check out our Homeschool Group board on Pinterest!