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Super Fun Math Activity for Kinesthetic Learners

November 12, 2018 by OneMommy

She was supposed to be working on her spelling words, but out of the corner of my eye I could see her turning around, watching as I carefully lined up our flashcards across the kitchen floor.  I knew I had her interest piqued.

Sitting still is something my daughter doesn’t do.  That’s one reason I am constantly looking for fun ways to learn math facts that let her move.

This simple hands-on math activity for kinesthetic learners was so much fun, I couldn’t wait to share it with you.

active learning activity for math facts

 

Affiliate links have been provided below. 

kinesthetic math activity:

  • This activity can be set up for use by an individual or you can set it up “race style” for multiple students.  To set it up for an individual, grab the flashcards for the math facts you wish to focus on and create a path for your child to follow.  Make it fun!  Have the flashcards go down the hallway, under the kitchen table, or even up the stairs.
  • Have your child follow the path.  In order to step onto the next card, they must answer it correctly.

this simple math activity is a fun way to practice math facts for kinesthetic learners

  • To set up the math activity for two or more students, line up your flash cards side by side.  Make sure each row of flashcards has the same number of cards.
  • Have students start at the first card.  In order to move on to the next flashcard, they must answer the math fact correctly.  If they make a mistake, have them take one step back.  Who can get to the finish line first?

Now we have another way to make math fact practice fun.

math races -- perfect for kinesthetic learners

 

Want to make it even more fun?  Let your child crawl along the path. (My 6 year-old pretended to be a puppy while doing this kinesthetic math activity.)

Your child may even like to hop like a bunny!

You can find even more fun hands-on learning activities your child will love in our ebook ABC’s & 123’s.
math races for kinesthetic learning


Helpful Tips:

    • You can do this activity with addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division problems.  To make it even mre challenging, mix it up and use different types of problems!
    • Flashcards with oversized numbers make seeing the problems easier during this activity.
    • To keep your flashcards looking nice you may want to laminate them first.
    • Keep your flashcards from sliding around with a small piece of painter’s tape.  (This is especially important when two overly-excited siblings are racing each other!)
    • Sometimes it’s hard to concentrate when your sibling is shouting answers next to you.  These noise-reducing earmuffs come in handy!    (They’re also perfect for blocking out big sister’s rendition of “Let It Go.”)
    • If you are having a race you may want to have a small prize, although it isn’t necessary.  The race itself was enough motivation for my two.

We have been having lots of fun with this kinesthetic math activity this week.

It’s so simple to set up and much more fun than your typical flashcard drills.   These math games also make math practice more fun.

If you’re looking for more kinesthetic learning ideas check out these great posts:

    • Subtraction Squish 
    • Read to the Top
    • Simon Says with a Reading Twist
    • Fun with Fractions:  7 Tactile and Kinesthetic Games from We Are Teachers


 
Originally published January 5, 2016. 

Filed Under: Math Tagged With: kinesthetic learning, math activity, math facts

Comments

  1. Regina says

    January 6, 2016 at 11:54 am

    I LOVE this idea! Kids sit waaaaay too much nowadays and math can seem “boring” if it’s always seat work for fact practice. Fact fluency makes math so much easier – what a creative way to teach it!

    • OneMommy says

      January 9, 2016 at 11:13 pm

      Young kids aren’t meant to sit all day at a desk. My daughter’s need to move inspires us to do all kinds of learning that is up and about. I’m hoping to share more ideas soon.

      Thanks for stopping by!

  2. Catherine says

    January 9, 2016 at 3:27 pm

    What a great idea! My kids would love this. Anything to get them up and moving. We do something similar. I sit at the top of our stairs and hold the cards. When they get the answer right, they get to move up a stair. If they get it wrong they move down a stair. They win when they get to the top of the stairs. We love doing this for sight words.

    • OneMommy says

      January 9, 2016 at 11:14 pm

      Love that! We have done that with sight words, too, but not math facts yet. I am putting it on our list to do this week!

  3. Erin @ Nourishing My Scholar says

    January 11, 2016 at 10:16 pm

    You are a genius! This is such a fabulous idea!!! I’m trying it out tomorrow.#MMBH

    • OneMommy says

      January 12, 2016 at 2:49 pm

      You’re too kind! Thank you. And I hope you have as much fun with it as we did.

  4. Shiney Shoo says

    January 12, 2016 at 12:55 pm

    Love this post, thank you so much, my daughter will love this activity

  5. Moriah Steiner says

    January 13, 2016 at 1:46 pm

    Great idea! My girls definitely like to move and have trouble siting still. Thanks for linking up!

    • OneMommy says

      January 17, 2016 at 2:46 pm

      This is the perfect activity for them then! 🙂

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