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Free KenKen Math Puzzles!

May 6th, 2013

Hi!  It’s Monday, May 6, 2013 and time for Math at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:

KenKen

Age Range: 7 and up (approximately, with parental supervision)

ClickScholar Amy suggested this ad-supported website that provides free KenKen math puzzles. What’s a KenKen? As Amy described it, “It’s a logic puzzle that mixes a Sudoku puzzle and arithmetic.” It was invented by a Japanese mathematics instructor, Tetsuya Miyamoto. His goal was to improve his students’ math and logic skills. As explained at the website:

“KenKen is a grid-based numerical puzzle that uses the basic math operations—addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division—while also challenging your logic and problem-solving skills. By altering the size of a KENKEN grid, from 3 x 3 up to 9 x 9, and employing different combinations of the math operations, five different difficulty levels can be generated, and a seemingly endless number of puzzles. In a way, KenKen is like a game of chess: The more you think ahead to your next move and consider all the possible outcomes, the better you’ll get—and the smarter you’ll become!”

When you get to the website you’ll see the puzzles of the day. If you’re unfamiliar with KenKen, click on “How To Play” on the menu at the top of the page. You’ll not only read an explanation of how to play, but you can follow a step-by-step tutorial. Then, test your skills with the daily puzzles.

Bookmark the site to return each day for the daily puzzles, or sign up (as a teacher) to receive the free newsletter and a set of KenKens will be emailed to you weekly. 

Note: You can also purchase a Premium Membership, that allows you to use the puzzles ad-free. Details at the website.

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Brilliant Math & Logic Games!

January 23rd, 2012

Hi!  It’s Monday, January 23, 2012 and time for Math at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
10 Ticks Math Games

Age Range: 6-13 (about grades 1-8, with parental supervision)

I usually don’t get caught up in the free math games that I review, but this site’s math activities were an exception. I can’t believe I spent almost an hour selecting map coordinates to find buried treasure, determining angle trajectories to obliterate alien spacecraft, and testing my speed at selecting squares and powers of two among arcade mallard ducks. Pitiful. (Just kidding.)  :)

This United Kingdom website offers a fee-based online math program, but it provides lots of free sample math and logic games that give kids practice in addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, algebra, and more. Plus, there are a variety of traditional games that test logic skills too.

When you get to the site, you’ll see a menu icon of featured games such as “PacAlgebra” (kinda like Pac Man) and below it an extensive A-to-Z menu that includes:

  • Alien Angles (Curses, foiled again!)
  • Backgammon (Learn to play!)
  • Bat Collector (I dare you!) 
  • Chess (Can you beat Artificial Intelligence?)
  • Draw Poker (Test probability skills!)
  • Mallard Maths – (So silly and so fun!)
  • 0X0 Algebra & Math (aka Tic-Tac-Toe using word problems)
  • Rat Splat (Random math quizzes.)
  • And many more!

Click on a game of choice and a new screen opens. Look for the “Instructions” usually located (although hard to see) in a frame near the bottom of the game screen. Then, let the games begin!  Bookmark this site to return often.

 

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Kids Videos Explore NYC

November 15th, 2007

Recommended Website:
Meet Me At The Corner

This website offers educational videos about different locations and topics
that are created for kids by kids. The announcement that I received from the
founder, Donna Guthrie, contained this message:

“Join homeschoolers as they travel to the top of the Empire State Building
and stroll around Central Park. Listen as they interview interesting people
and ask questions about what you want to know.”

When I visited the site, I didn’t see any mention of homeschoolers, but the
videos archived at the site were created and submitted by kids (who could be
homeschoolers). Most of the children appear as reporters in their videos
who interview people about various subjects including:

  • How To Become A Collector
  • An Interview with An Illustrator of Children’s Books
  • The Game of Chess
  • How To Become A Puppeteer
  • Bird Watching
  • Baseball

There is even a video that explains how kids can make their own videos and
submit them to “Meet Me At The Corner” to be featured on the website.

When you get to the site just click on “Episodes” on the menu to access the
10 videos that are currently available on the site. Click on any title, and
a new page opens where you can watch the video pod cast. Each page also
offers suggestions for further activities or resources to enhance learning
about that topic.

The purpose of this website is to encourage children to learn the art of
self-expression and storytelling through creating videos that feature their
special corner of the world.
The website founder wrote:

“In the beginning, the video pod casts will focus
on the people, events and history of New York City. Each program will
highlight the talent, diversity and accomplishments of the people of New
York through explorations of New York City block by block. As the site grows
through children’s submissions, we hope to highlight the people and events
of other towns, cities and nations.”

Perhaps your children will be inspired to help them achieve their goal. :)

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Kids Learn to Play Chess!

June 2nd, 2007

Recommended Website:

Chess Kids Academy

Age Range: 7 and up!

This website was designed to help young children learn how to play chess. The game of chess provides intellectual stimulation while improving concentration, logical thought, and critical thinking. It also provides
opportunities for friendships, an outlet for competition, and a relief from boredom. Chess is a lot of fun! :)

When you get to the site, you will see a picture of a chess board that
presents a chess challenge. See if you can figure it out. If you give up,
roll over the chess board with your mouse to see the answer. Want more like
this? Every time you refresh this page, you get another challenge! Then, use
the menu bar at the top of the screen to navigate the site.

Click “Kids” on the menu and a new page opens. You’ll see another menu at
the top of the Kids page. Click on the headings (not the drop-down menus
that appear as you roll your mouse across the headings) to access:

  • Beginners – Learn about the board and the pieces. Then take some simple
    quizzes to get a certificate. After this, you can select a virtual opponent
    and level of challenge for some real practice playing chess.
  • Thinking Skills – In “Are You Old Enough” you will find some carefully
    selected online games to help you improve important skills needed in order
    to do well in Chess, including Tetris and Checkers. There are also some
    exercises to help you identify moves and visualize the chessboard. Try your
    hand at the “blindfold” section! Note: Parents might want to preview the
    “Personality Test” section to determine suitability.
  • Improvers – The “Games” section here is the same as the ones under
    “Beginners,” above. But here is where you can learn play video games and
    learn tactics, strategies, and famous plays including the Queen’s Gambit,
    Black Queen’s Walkabout, and more! Build your skills until you are ready for
    “The Final Challenge!” :)
  • School – Here are all of the same lessons in the previous sections,
    arranged differently. A full 3 years’ worth of lessons free online (although
    you can progress at your own pace or skip around; the “3 years” refers to
    how long the lessons are expected to take in a school setting). These
    lessons are enhanced by “violent” videos, “suitable for children and
    accompanied grownups,” which you can find under “Theater.” The violence
    here, in case you were worried, involves checkmating the opponent’s king. :)

Parents and teachers who wish to help guide their students through this site
can select the sections designed just for them to see the syllabus, direct
links to specific lessons, information about privacy, and so on. (But kids
can learn a lot here independently as well!)

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Mathematical Games To Play Offline

November 27th, 2006

Recommended Website:
Madras College:
Mathematical Games

This website offers instructions on how to play a variety of math games using materials you probably have around the house. The games are challenging and fun. They require strategizing and critical thinking, while exercising math skills. They include:

  • Board and Counter Games – You’ll find ideas for using game board grids, chess pieces, game markers or counters and other materials to play games that teach and reinforce math skills without seeming like math — which is great for the mathphobics in the house.
  • Card Games — Print out free card templates to play a game of SET!
  • Coin Games – Use coins to learn about chance and probability.
  • Domino Games — Find an ingenious use of a chess board and a set of dominoes to play the game, “Domineering.”
  • Paper & Pencil Games — A variety of math games you can play with nothing more than a paper and pencil. Great for traveling in the car — or when waiting in line or at the dentist’s office. :)
  • Paper & Scissor Game — This one requires strategy and manual dexterity.

In addition to the games listed, you will find links to other webpages containing math games your students may enjoy.

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Math Through Clever Games

July 7th, 2003

Recommended Website:
Clever Games for Clever People

List member, Christie in Ontario, recommended today’s website that offers some fascinating games that teach math concepts. She wrote, “I was hunting for good math pattern sites when I stumbled across this one. It is called Clever Games for Clever People. They are easy to play — some involve a chess board and some dominoes. Just the thing my guys like to do!”

When you get to the site you will see a brief introduction explaining that these games are from the book “On Numbers and Games” by John Conway. Conway wrote the book to show the relationships between logic and numbers — and winning mathematical games. The game instructions are simple to follow with clear illustrations. The materials needed are probably things you already have around the house (mainly dominoes and a chess board) — and there are creative suggestions for substitutes if you don’t happen to have these items. As you play the games you develop strategies for winning and that builds an understanding of numbers and math concepts. There are 16 games in all that include:

  • Stop-Gate
  • Col
  • Snort
  • Coin-strip
  • Moneybags
  • Kayles
  • Rim
  • Rayles
  • Traffic jam
  • Welter’s game
  • All the King’s Horses
  • Digital Deletions
  • Hackenbush
  • Unrestrained Hackenbush
  • Restrained Hackenbush
  • Hotchpotch
  • Technicolor Hackenbush

While the math concepts demonstrated by these games may be challenging for younger players to comprehend — they will enjoy playing the games anyway. Have fun!

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