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1 Game to Improve Numeracy in Children

1 Game to Improve Numeracy in Children

Is family literacy important? Of course it is! Children who have parents that are involved with them in family literacy score higher on standardized reading tests. This shows us that children are influenced by their parents and that parents can demonstrate the importance of literacy (and numeracy!). In this blog, we’ll explain why numeracy is important and a game you can play with your children to improve it. Numbers are everywhere, and we need to give our children the tools they need to understand them.

Is Numeracy Important?

If you look around you, it’s likely you can see numbers. Are you able to understand what those numbers mean? Can you use them in your daily life? Numeracy is having the confidence and skills to solve problems using math in your everyday life. We need to be able to interpret numbers for our personal finances, cooking, our health, understanding statistics and graphs in the news, and more! Through positive associations and games, we can make math and numbers fun. Positive associations could mean talking about math and numbers positively and avoiding saying you were “bad at math” in school. Below, we have a game to work on numeracy in finances.

The Game

Materials needed: Grocery flyer, paper, writing utensil

To start, take the flyer (you can find flyers in your newspaper) and give it to your child. Ask them what they would buy if they had $50 to spend. What might they need (food, laundry detergent, personal hygiene, etc.)? You may need to help your child with adding the prices.

Then, have your child choose 3-5 items. How much would each item cost if they were 10, 25, 50% off? Depending on the age of your child, you can use easier or harder percentages. 

Lastly, which sale item is the best deal? Why is it the best deal?

Numbers are Everywhere

One last way you can use numbers in daily life is by incorporating them into your conversations. For example, that could mean asking your child to choose 2 books, or bring you 4 spoons and 2 forks. To improve their numeracy skills, we need to use numbers. We need to show them why numbers are important and how they’re used everywhere. So use numbers! Point them out on food, in the store, as measurements, as phone numbers, in the weather forecast, and in the news. What do the numbers mean? And lastly, feel good about the investment you’re making in your child’s future.