The Ultimate Book on Math Games

If you want to play games you have to have this book.

I first "discovered" Constance Kamii when I was taking a class on Jean Piaget and Constructivism.

Kamii, a student of Piaget, had written several articles on teaching mathematics to young children. These articles led me to her books. My child, a kindergartener at the time, was struggling with subtraction (!) worksheets in the classroom. My university class was a perfect time for me to learn more about how children gain an understanding of numbers.

This book has not only changed the way I teach, it has changed the way I parent.

The first few chapters of Kamii's Young Children Reinvent Arithmetic describe the constructivist approach to education (with an emphasis on mathematics) and the importance of a child's autonomy. The last few chapters give very practical ways to implement a constructivist friendly approach to teaching math- including two chapters on math games and another on managing a classroom during game time!

While this book describes the games played by a classroom of first graders, the approach is ageless and the games can be used for levels spanning kindergarten through third grades.