Though I wasn’t ever really confident in Math, if you can believe it, I chalk it up to the fact that God sent some divine intervention when I took my college entrance exam, because I actually tested out of having to take any Math in college. To this day I’ve never been great with Math under pressure and am thankful for my fingers and modern day inventions like the calculator and smartphone that can calculate percentages off for store sales and restaurant tips in a pinch.
When Lisa Hayes, the creator of Matics asked if she could send me her card game for review, I couldn’t say no. Working with Special Education teachers and children on IEP’s who have difficulty learning, I see kids struggle with math and math facts. If there’s anyway to make Math learning more fun and fluid, I’m game.
Matics is a math card game for kids, where children can practice addition, subtraction and multiplication. What makes these cards different than a traditional deck of cards is that there are shapes on the card. So for a child who doesn’t understand the concept of a number, but they can touch count, then they can use their fingers to count up or down on the actual card. Such a simple strategy that can help boost children’s confidence and allow kids of varying abilities a way to successfully play together.
3 of the Special Education teachers I work with were also provided with decks of Matics cards and they all have had positive comments, with the children’s favorite game playing “addition with the twist.” 2 players take 2 cards and add them together, the player with the smaller number can take a 3rd card and see if there sum is greater than the other players.
At school as an occupational therapist, I work with children on how to write their numbers, so I was able to pair these cards up with a number formation worksheet, and the children practiced the number on the sheet that matched the card they removed from the deck.
I received a few free sample decks of Matics to use with students, any opinions are my own.
For those of you who are looking for a stocking stuffer or a different way to incorporate numbers and math into your child’s life, Matics is offering a 10% off your entire order, using the promo code TQUEEN until December 20, 2013 when ordering from their website, Kabuki Helps. Matics retails for $9.95 and can also be purchased on Amazon.com.