If your child is a reluctant math student, gamification might be the way forward. Our online tutoring team is big on finding ways to make math enjoyable for students. We believe if kids are having fun, they are more likely to want to keep learning (even a challenging subject like math). This strategy to entice kids to practice math through games is quite impactful, especially if they play video games. For this reason, many teachers and online tutors gamify math in their classrooms and lessons.
If you’re down to try out gamification at home, here are 5 engaging math apps to help make the learning process more entertaining for your child.
Prodigy
From school, your child may be already familiar with Prodigy, the online math game where kids answer math questions to complete epic quests, level up, and earn in-game rewards. Prodigy is probably one of the best examples we could give of math gamification done right, because the leveling system encourages kids to keep playing. While there is a subscription option for the game, Prodigy can be played with a free access account at home and is great for kids in grades 1 to 8.
Euclidea
Looking for math gamification that tackles geometry? Euclidea is all about building geometric constructions the fun way, and you’ll learn all the definitions and meanings as you go. There’s 120 levels and every construct is inherently dynamic, meaning you can reshape your construct just by moving your fingers on the display.
PS, if you love Euclidea, the app maker has several other geometry apps and arithmetic puzzle games.
SplashLearn
For those who want more of a self-directed approach, SplashLearn is more of a library of thousands of different games than one cohesive program like Prodigy. But not only does it offer math gamification, it offers English Language Arts (ELA) games and worksheets to help with reading, too! There is a subscription component, but with support on multiple platforms including Apple, Android, and desktop devices, it’s still a great option.
DreamBox
Where SplashLearn is a library of games that you pick and choose from what you need to work on, DreamBox again is more like Prodigy, a cohesive program that offers adaptive learning and teacher oversight in making a learning track for your child, making it a good tool for the classroom. Where it differs from Prodigy is that isn’t just math gamification – reading is built into the program as well!
If DreamBox isn’t in your classroom, families do have several subscription options to get access to the program at home, including a one-time fee that gives a 10 year license for a reasonable price.
Khan Academy Kids
We love recommending Khan Academy, because their mission statement is to make world-class education available to everyone, anywhere, for free (adults included). Khan Academy Kids has an extensive app library built for kids, pushing gamification in every educational track, math included. But where most gamification apps end at grade 8, Khan Academy has support structures in place to help kids keep learning through secondary school and into university.
Khan Academy also includes interactive stories, printables, and video tutorials for many subjects, making it easy to get more in-depth help wherever you need it.
Math gamification doesn’t have to be online on computers and tablets! There are also dozens of math games you can play offline. Be sure to check out these 5 Math Games for Children at Home for some ideas!
