15 Best Outdoor Math Games for Your Child
reviewed by Jo-ann Caballes
Updated on September 9, 2024
Math doesn’t come naturally to most kids. If your young one has trouble understanding math, taking lessons outside to do some outdoor math activities can be beneficial to break the learning barrier. In this piece, we will discover the 15 best outside math games and how they can be beneficial for both children and educators.
Outdoor math games for kindergarten
Children are naturally curious and need games to learn through hands-on exploration and discovery. Interactive and fun outdoor math activities help young kids embrace the innate curiosity and creativity they have in store.
In addition, outdoor math games can be a great way for children to channel their excess energy into learning math. That is, kids can jump, scream, and run while accumulating math at the same time.
Here is how you can arrange and play “Find the shape” and “The Frisbee Game”.
Outdoor math game for children #1: Find the shape
Prepare paper geometric shapes of different colors that you want students to focus on. Place them around the playground. It’s important to have multiples of various shapes and use colored paper. Make the shapes big (just big enough for preschoolers to see and identify) and cut them in half. Give each student a half of a shape so they know what they are looking for.
Next, have the children move around the playground to find a matching shape as quickly as possible. After they’re done searching, have them all sit down with the shapes and describe the specific attributes of the shape, like the number of sides, the number of corners, curved or straight, and finally, the names of the shapes.
Outdoor math game for children #2: The Frisbee game
The Frisbee game is great for outside math games. It is also one of the most well-liked math pastimes for preschoolers! What you’ll need for the game is a permanent marker, some paper to keep your score, and a Frisbee. Number your Frisbee from 1 to 10. Let the kids catch it, and whoever gets their hands on it first gets a math problem based on the positions of their fingers.
Preschoolers love math games outside, especially the ones like this. With this activity, children can learn to recognize numbers easily without the frustrations and boredom of the classroom.
Outdoor math games for elementary
As summer days are behind and kids roll back to school, their mood fluctuates: just yesterday, they got to play in the sun, and yet again, they have to return to the classrooms. The 12 and under crowd is especially prone to mood swings and frustration since they still have all the excess energy to play and explore. This is why incorporating outdoor math activities is vital for their well-being.
Science backs it up: research shows that math games can improve math understanding for kids who struggle with it. Here are a couple of fun outdoor math games for elementary students.
Outdoor math game for children #3: The number line game
The number line game is somewhat similar to the number line you can find in lots of math textbooks. This outdoor game for 2nd graders is best played on concrete ground like a driveway or a playground. You’ll need a bit of chalk and some empty ground to play this game.
To play this outside math game, draw squares on the ground with numbers inside. Depending on the children’s arithmetic skills, you can draw both positive and negative integers on the number line. Make kids do counting by jumping on each number as you say it.
Let’s say the kids have to learn subtraction. Declare something like 6 – 3 and have them jump on the number 6. Then, make them jump three steps to the left. Otherwise, progress has to be made to the left (if dealing with negative numbers). With this game, kids get to move and learn basic arithmetic skills like recognizing numbers, adding, and subtracting.
Outdoor math game for children #4: Bowl and count
This is a great outdoor game for 4th graders. You’ll need index cards, balls, cello tape, paper, plastic bottles, plastic containers, and pens for this activity. You’ll have to label the index cards with numbers and attach them to the containers. Position the numbered bottles far from the students before starting the game.
Next, as everything is set and ready, you can begin the game. Have the students bawl with the balls. Their main goal here is to keep track of how many targets each ball hits and add the totals on the paper. This way, kids learn to apply arithmetic concepts, plan, and enhance their problem-solving skills, all while having fun with one of the best outdoor math games.
Outdoor math games for middle school
Outdoor math activities in middle school provide students with fun and engaging exposure to mathematics, where teachers can teach math using natural objects in the actual world.
Even though middle schoolers have much stronger attention spans than kindergarten and elementary school students, it doesn’t mean they want to learn in a closed space without any games or fun activities.
In addition, with the math games outside, they have the ability to experiment with their ideas on a much longer scale when they’re outside since it is more indulgent in supplies and tools.
Let’s explore some fun math activities for kids in middle school.
Outdoor math game for children #5: Geometry in nature
If math lessons are getting a tad tiring for children, you can always take the lessons outside. Take a worksheet with geometry-related tasks to the playground and make the kids do the worksheet as they would in the classroom, but don’t forget to add a little twist.
Let’s say you have this Circle Worksheet for the 6th grade. You can do it in a traditional way, where everybody works individually and exchanges answers later. Or, you can draw the circles on the ground with a piece of chalk and engage the children in identifying the parts of each circle together. This way of hands-on learning makes abstract concepts like radius, diameter, and circumference clearer and more coherent. By physically engaging with circles, children get to have a real experience that reinforces their understanding.
Some children are naturally gifted at math and can crack these little geometry problems as easy as shelling peas. But what if your kid falls behind and you simply can’t find the time to take them outside and tackle these math problems together? In that case, you might consider an online tutoring service like Brighterly. Brighterly professional tutors know how to engage your kid in math in the most efficient way. Equipped with interactive tools and a dedication to bringing your kid’s full potential to life, Brighterly expert-driven tutors are ready to assist your child with any math conundrum.
Outdoor math game for children #6: Army game
This is a perfect springtime math game to play outside! Get your army’s arsenal together: sticky notes, empty aluminum cans, a water squirter, and pencils. Label the sticky notes with the numbers from 1 to 10 (could be more) and put them on the cans. Line up the cans in a neat row.
Give the water squirter to the kids and make them aim and knock over the cans. The students can choose to find the difference, total, or product for each container they knock over. This is one of the most fun math activities for kids, and it can benefit them in many ways, including learning to recognize numbers, add, subtract, and multiply. Children love to play this game, and it serves as a great thing to ease their minds from extensive learning.
Outdoor math games for high school
High schoolers can seem like a tough crowd to incorporate math games.
First, they often feel they’re past the age for “fun” activities and view math games as too childish or not serious enough.
Second, peer perception can shift in high school: kids like to play cool instead of actually playing. However, high schoolers may benefit from outdoor math activities as much as the younger kids.
Keep reading to explore some fun outdoor math games for high school.
Outdoor math game for children #7: Escape room math
The objective of this game is to solve various math-related problems to unlock clues and solve a fictional mystery. This game involves some preparation, but it is a fun way to practice math, especially for high schoolers who don’t get impressed easily.
To prepare for this game, you have to create several progressive stations with math problems, each harder in every station. Come up with a simple scenario to make it more engaging. If you can’t make a scenario up, use AI chats that can help you with it. When you have your scenario, think about the clues you’ll be giving your students after each problem is solved. To play this outdoor math game, divide students into teams of 3-5 people and make them compete to solve math problems faster!
Outdoor math game for children #8: Relay math race
This outdoor math activity is relatively easy to play and organize. Have your high schoolers get outside and play a relay race where they get simple math problems to solve at each stage of the race. Naturally, you can’t decide which is the winning team until you check all of the answers. If any of the team members failed one of the tasks, mix teams up and have them run the race again.
Fun outdoor math games
If you’re wondering whether fun math activities for kids mean better grades—the answer is yes. One study from 2017 found that students who played outdoor math games can enhance their math skills by connecting learning to real-life experiences.
Here’s a list of fun outdoor math games that can potentially increase math grades.
Outdoor math game for children #9: Egg race
You will need eggs, spoons, and baskets for this game. The objective of this game is to balance ten plastic eggs on a spoon. If they lose an egg during a race, kids must return to the finish line and subtract the number of eggs they lost from 10.
Outdoor math game for children #10: Ping-pong throwing
You’ll need baskets, ping-pong balls, and chalk. Get some index cards and number the baskets. Call out a number and ask the kids to place the corresponding number of balls in the basket.
Outdoor math game for children #11: Bounce and shoot
You’ll need some number cards or chalk, a ball, and a tin can to play this game. Mark the numbers 1 through 10 on the pavement. Get the students to solve easy arithmetic questions and run to the corresponding number on the floor. Next, they need to bounce the ball a couple of times before kicking it toward the tin can.
Outdoor math game for children #12: Roll the dice
Another fun math activity for kids is rolling the dice. Students roll dice, record the number of dots, and then perform math operations like adding or subtracting the results after a set number of rolls, such as two or three.
Sports math games
Sports math games allow for fun and interactive learning experiences so that children can associate math with something fun and engaging. Here are a couple of examples that’ll help kids to develop a positive attitude toward math.
Outdoor math game for children #13: Frog leap
Instruct your kids to jump from one end to another. Then, with the help of a measuring tape, have kids measure the distance—that’ll teach them the principles of measurement.
Outdoor math game for children #14: Race against the flashcards
Have several flashcards with math problems taped on the ground. Ask the kids to run to each flashcard and solve it. Then, they may only continue on the next one once they’re done solving the previous one.
Outdoor math game for children #15: Jump to the math fact
This game is somewhat similar to the #14. In this game, kids race to solve problems using a chalk grid with scattered numbers.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it’s important to incorporate outdoor math activities to break the learning barrier. This is especially true when students have a hard time focusing on math concepts since they need games to learn through hands-on exploration and discovery. Engaging, active, and fun math games and activities can direct their excess energy into proactive math learning. Outdoor math games can also enhance children’s math skills by connecting learning to real-life experiences.
But if you wish to support your child’s math at home, hiring a trusted math tutor may be extremely helpful. Brighterly is a perfect platform for this, with tutors who understand that math doesn’t have to be boring for kids.
Book a free lesson now and supply your kid with interactive, fuss-free math lessons!
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