HOT DOTS Clocks and Time

This is a purchased game that my grandchild LOVE! At the end I will show you how you can make your own games for any skill you need.

 Diana is using the special pen to select the correct response to the time at the top of the card.

 If the correct answer is selected the pen turns on a green light. It also plays music or says an encouraging phrase for the child.

 If a wrong response is chosen, the light on the pen is red. The pen also makes a beeping sound and tells the child to try again.

The purchased games come in nice recipe-sized boxes. They have them for several different math and phonics skills. We have clocks, money, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, beginning letter sounds.

But what really makes Hot Dots versatile is the extra dots you can buy. There are two sheets of COLD dots (wrong answer) and one sheet of HOT dots (right answer) in each package. The pens can also be purchased separately. I have made lots of other games for the grandchildren using these dots.

 

 

I don't often promote purchased games....but we really like these. ...and the skill possibilities are endless!

SEARCH - Clocks & Time

Search games are always enjoyed by even little ones. The games are easy to make more difficult for older children by simply having more pairs to match.

I used two different colors of card stock. Using two different colors makes the game a little easier for younger children as all the clocks are on yellow while the times are on blue. 

The clocks were made using a stamp. They could be made using pictures from a math workbook. I marked out a 8 1/2" X 11" sheet of card stock. Then after the clocks were stamped and marked I covered the sheets with clear Contact paper to make the cards more durable. The times were written on the blue card stock cards after a sheet was marked out and then covered with Contact paper.

NOTE: I have blank cards printed on numerous colors of card stock in different sizes so they are ready whenever I need them. Those of you who are more computer sauvy can probably have templates ready and add pictures or words before printing them out.

To Play: In turn, players turn up two cards attempting to find a match. If the turned cards are not a match, the cards are again placed face-down and the next player takes a turn.

Clock/time Dominoes

The dominoes were made of posterboard to be extra sturdy. Posterboard comes in very pretty colors.

I drew out the dominoes on a full sheet of posterboard. The clock pictures were cut from a math workbook.

TO PLAY:  I give the child one domino to start the play. They find the needed dominoes to complete "the snake."

Sometimes we play it more of a GAME by playing a bit more like dominoes. We each draw five cards and one card is placed in the center. In turn, we play one of our dominoes or draw one if we have none that play and the turn passes to the next player. The first player to play all their dominoes wins....OR we usually just draw a couple more dominoes and keep playing until all have been played.

Just Time - a Board Game

A fun board game in a Candyland format.

 
This board game is so simple to make. Take a pretty colored file folder. Draw some simple shaped spaces to create the path. I used a permanent black marker. I added the little lines between the shapes just to make the path clearer. Add a couple of stickers to a couple of the spaces and write times in the rest of the spaces.  

The gameboard

 The cards can be made from card stock, posterboard, half index cards, or simply use the backs of business cards like I did here. My son happened to have a bunch of these left over and I put them to good use.



The cards

 I used a clock stamp and pen to create the clock cards. Pictures of clocks could be cut from a math workbook, or could even be drawn. Then I made a couple fun cards to match the stickers on the path.

TO PLAY: Play is similar to Candyland. In turn, a player draws a card and moves along the path to the first space that matches the time on the clock he drew. If he draws a fun card, he moves to the matching space on the board. This may be a forward or backward move.



Storing the cards

STORAGE:  I store the cards in a ziplock bag. I punch a hole in the upper left corner of the bag and in the file folder near the fold. I use a paper fastener to hold the bag. I keep the prongs to the inside of the folder so they do not catch on other file folder games. I store all my file folder games in milk crates. I use different crates for different subject so the game I want is easy to find.

Clocks and Time to Half Hour Match Up

These pieces were part of a book of math games and activities that I purchased. However, it would be very easy to make these same pieces at home using pictures of clocks from math workbooks.

The children PLAY with these rather than do pages of workbook drill.  I set out the card pairs I want them to drill for the day and they match them up. They often ask for more cards to do after I have checked their matches....how often do you get that with workbooks????

TIP: These could easily be made self-correcting by simply putting matching letters on the back of pairs.

Find the Answer - Addition & Subtraction Facts

"Find the Answer" is one of the children's favorite games to play. It is easy to make, fast to play, and fun for all ages.

 

 

To Make:

 

Make a collection of ANSWER CARDS that children will be required to find. These can be made using index cards, slips of paper, or any other supply you may have on hand. On each write the answer to a question you wish to drill, review, or test the child(ren) on. The child will read each answer card as (s)he hides it around the room - trying to remember where he placed each card.

 

QUESTION CARDS can be made using the same type of supplies as above, or the parent/teacher may verbally state a question.

 

You will want to keep the number of card pairs small for young children. Older children can handle more pairs. I still limit the number of pairs we play with at one time to about 10 even with the older boys.

 

Here Diana is reading one of her QUESTION CARDS. We are drilling math facts.

 

She takes a closer look. That might help.

 


After hunting around the room, she shows the correct ANSWER CARD she found.
 

The child will go around looking at each card they hid attempting to find the ANSWER CARD that they need. 

Diana shows the QUESTION and ANSWER CARDS together.

 

Wesley shares the cards that he has put together.

 Diana and Wesley played at the same time. I gave them each cards to hide and I had a set of QUESTION CARDS for each of them.

Wesley found the 6 he needed hidden in the bottom of the Charlotte's activity seat.
 

 Diana searched and searched for one of the ANSWER CARDS but could not find it. When the children are hiding their ANSWER CARDS it can be a big help for me to watch where they are hiding them so I can give suggestions of places to look. This can be important. Some time ago we were playing Find the Answer - States & Capitals. One ANSWER CARD could not be found while we played. Several days later, one of the children found it hidden between a couple books on a shelf.

Diana asks for help finding a card she needs.

 


The children bring their ANSWER CARDS up and match them to a Question Card

 

Think of all the possibilities for this game! We have used it for phonics, math, states & capitals, clocks & time, and words to read... so far.

 





Addition & Subtraction Equations - Education Cubes

Diana has recently been introduced to subtraction on paper. So the minus sign is rather new to her. I noticed that she was treating all problems as though they were addition. So I made an education cube with 3 plus signs and 3 minus signs.  The children took turn tossing the cube and shouting out PLUS or MINUS.

 

 

After a few minutes of this we changed to ADD or SUBTRACT. When I let them shout, they think it is a GREAT game! This rule depends on whether or not the baby is napping OR the noise level I can tolerate at the moment.

 

 

Then we added two number cubes. I kept the numbers low for Diana's benefit for now. (We have used larger numbers with Wesley, and much larger numbers with the older boys.)

 

 

Diana and Wesley took turns tossing the three cubes, lining them up and giving the correct solution to the equation.

 

 

Diana would get very excited when it was an equation she KNEW the answer to. For other, harder ones, she would do some counting to get the solution. By the time we finished playing she had memorized several more facts.

 

 

 

At times, Wesley offered some assistance.....

 

Be sure to check out some of the other games we play with these education cubes.