Review Game: Once Through the Deck

Math Concepts: basic facts of addition, multiplication.
Players: one.
Equipment: one deck of math cards (poker- or bridge-style playing cards with the face cards and jokers removed).

The best way to practice the math facts is through the give-and-take of conversation, orally quizzing each other and talking about how you might figure the answers out. But occasionally your child may want a simple, solitaire method for review.

How to Play

Shuffle the deck and place it face down on the table in front of you. Flip the cards face up, one at a time.

For each card, say out loud the sum (or product) of that number plus (or times) the number you want to practice. Don’t say the whole equation, just the answer.

Go through the deck as fast as you can. But don’t try to go so fast that you have to guess! If you are not sure of the answer, stop and figure it out.

History

Brian at The Math Mojo Chronicles demonstrates the game in this video, which my daughter so thoroughly enjoyed that she immediately ran to find a deck of cards and practiced her times-4 facts. It’s funny, sometimes, what will catch a child’s interest.