I began using Right Start Math games recently along with our base math program (Math Mammoth). We love using a variety of sources to help improve our math skills from online programs and games to manipulatives to apps.
In fact, I prefer switching things up quite a bit and often rather than depending on only one program to do all the work for us. I’ve learned that a base program can do the heavy lifting as our spine by giving us a general outline of concepts we should cover that academic year, but sometimes doesn’t provide everything we would like in one single math program. So, we end up supplementing a lot for math.
Recently we discovered RSM games and have been incorporating them into our weekly math routine. Right Start Math games are a great addition to any math program…but it’s not without its flaws. As a visual person, I’d love to see more pictures and videos showing me how to play some of these games. It’s very wordy, so just know that if you are a visual person it can take a while to really grasp the steps for each game. And there are over 300 of them in this one book!
How to Play the Column Addition Game
This is a fairly easy game to play and doesn’t require basic skills beyond addition. This game is great for addition review even if your student is well into decimals, fractions, or pre-algebra.
- Start with the Basic Number card deck, taking away all the 10s.
- Lay out the cards in three rows of three cards each. You should have a total of 9 cards per row and per column.
- There should be two players to make this game fun.
- The object of the game is for each player to come up with the same final sum.
- Player 1 adds up the nine number cards in each row and adds those sums together. Player 2 adds up the nine numbers cards in each column and adds those together for a grand sum.
- Players 1 and 2 compare their grand sums, and they should be the same number!
For a short twist on the game, you can time yourselves to see who comes up with a grand total first.
If you don’t have RSM games, you can create your own game similar to this using cards numbered 1-9 for a total of 27 cards.
My daughter and I really enjoyed this game! Check out our CTC math review and Math Mammoth flip-through as well.
