Super Fun Math Activity for Kinesthetic Learners

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 why we do activities like Read to the Top and use a practice math facts with a beach ball.)  This simple math activity proved perfect for my kinesthetic learner and I couldn’t wait to share it with you.

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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.

• 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?

Finally, math fact practice can be fun!

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.)   Or maybe they’d 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.

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
• Kinesthetic Math Games  from Coffee Cups and Crayons
• Fun with Fractions:  7 Tactile and Kinesthetic Games from We Are Teachers