Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Review & Giveaway: Math House Games

I've spent a bit of time over the past week or so with a new math product intended for kids in preschool through early elementary ages.  Trina, my kindergartner, has been my test subject.  Richard (2nd grade) thought he was far too mature for this.  He will, however, be joining in.  Just not at the beginning.


Carlito C. Caterpillar's Math House Games is a set of 8" x 4" cards -- thirty of them -- on a ring.  Twenty of the cards have math games, with a version of the same concept on each side.  That means there are forty math games in all.

The games are split into three stages:
  1. Quantity (Steps 1-10)
  2. Numeration (Steps 11-14)
  3. Operations (Steps 15-20)
The final games involve multiplication and division, so this definitely is something that can take you well past "preschool" math.

The cards contain the instructions for playing the games, and a list of "stuff" you will need.  That stuff might include socks, fruit, chickpeas, notepaper.... or it might include the special manipulatives that you can download.

I was disappointed that the link to the downloads was incorrect.  However, it was pretty easy to find on the website.  From the home page, you click through to downloads, and scrolling down to the manipulative pages, which are available as pdf files by stage.


The first cards are introductory in nature, talking about the myths about teaching math to young kids, for instance.  I disagreed with a couple points made, but overall, I thought this was an excellent discussion, particularly good for parents who are just starting off with their oldest child.

Trina and I are having a lot of fun with these games, and I will continue to use these for a lot of her kindergarten math.  I don't tend to believe in "formal" math at this age anyway, and I am impressed with the approach used here.

Would you like to win a copy?  I have one to give away.  I'm trying something new with Rafflecopter, so I'd love feedback on this as well!  And...for the Facebook option for me, if you are friends with me on Facebook already, go ahead and click "I did this."  If you aren't, you can find my page here, and friend request me, then click "I did this."  It wouldn't be any fun if I did this all right the first time!





Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

34 comments:

Rodna Allman said...

I would use this with my 6 year old son.

Kela said...

This would be great to have!!! Thanks for the giveaway!

Cristi said...

I'd use this with Lauren. Or better yet, I'd enlist an older sibling to do it with her.

Lorus! said...

What a neat product! It sounds like a great hands-on way to teach math.

Jennifer said...

My 7 and 12 year olds might play this together.

Sarah said...

I'd definitely be using this with my K/1st grader and my 2nd grader who needs help with math.

SeekingHim at gmail dot com

Tess said...

Samantha would be the user. Like Cristi I would enlist helpers to play the games with her.

Susan said...

My 6-year-old would be the primary user, though I can see the older kids benefiting at well. Math is a special challenge in our house. Thanks for the giveaway!

Anonymous said...

I would use this with my Kindergartener Levi!
Ksudoc93 @ aol . Com

Kimberly said...

This looks like something I could use with my 6-year-old!

Kristi said...

I would love to use this with my 7 year old math lover. :)

The Happy Homeschool Mom said...

Would love this for my 7 and 6 year olds.

coleycoupons said...

i would use these with my sweet lo.. she is just starting to get math concepts and these would be great tools@

Lynn @ TDHGP said...

We desperately need math for my youngest. This would be great!

Mandy said...

Would love it for my daughter
cluelessme8@hotmail.com

daivabaum said...

I'd use it for my son
poniabaum at gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

This would eventually be used wiht both of my boys as we begin our journey in homeschooling.

Cori Westphal said...

My kids are in 2nd and 3rd grade. They are required to study math at least 10 minutes every day. We really struggle with finding ways to keep it interesting. This would really stir things up a bit!

coriwestphal at msn dot com

Nicholas Burt said...

My son would use this. submitaforward @ yahoo.com

Laura said...

I would use this with both of my sons!

Laurasu82 at yahoo.com

Amy W. said...

My son would use this. cwitherstine at zoominternet dot net

Sheramy said...

I have three boys under 5, so this would get a lot of use at our house!

gerri_bolen[at]msn[dot]com said...

I would use this on my adopted kids, grandkids and foster kids

gerri_bolen[at]msn[dot]com

Diana said...

I have 4 little granddaughters who could use this
hrddiana556@gmail.com

Grandma Bonnie said...

My granddaughter would use this.
I would like to invite you to my low entry giveaway ending tomorrow at
http://grandmabonniescloset.blogspot.com/2011/09/my-memories-suite-review-giveaway.html

phxbne said...

my daughter

Anonymous said...

my son would use it
amandahoffman35@yahoo.com

Leigh Owens said...

My 5 and 9 year olds would use this. Thanks for the giveaway.

Robin Blankenship said...

My daughter would use it



robinblankenship@gmail.com

Justin said...

I would like to use this with my son who is in Pre-K this year.

kappasighacksaw(at)live(dot)com

Mama on a Green Mission said...

My husband teaches first grade - he could use this with his students!

gr812_2000 at yahoo dot com

carole said...

my grandaughter would like this

ACMommy3 said...

I would use this with my two young school kids! :-)

Laurie said...

my daughter

laurie1993@verizon.net