Tiny Polka Dot: An Amazing Math Game

I love using board and card games to learn math facts with children. The kids get just as much practice by playing games as they do with worksheets or workbooks, and the games are so much more fun. I use a mix of games that you play with conventional playing cards and games that you can buy commercially.

Tiny Polka Dot is one of my absolute favourite games for kindergarten and primary kids. Here's why.

It was created by math educators and math lovers

Many math games are made to be a lot of fun but only have a bit of math. Tiny Polka Dot has both! It was created by Math for Love, a husband and wife team that creates math games and math curricula. It's educational and kids enjoy it. This little game has won a pile of awards.

Kids learn really important math skills

Tiny Polka Dot helps kids practice several early math skills:

Recognizing numerals
Counting with one-to-one correspondence (one "count" for one item)
Understanding cardinality (knowing that the last number you say when counting is how many items there are)
Understanding conservation of number (knowing that how many items there are in a set doesn't change if you change the position of the items)
Subitizing (quickly recognizing how many items there are, without counting - like you do when rolling dice)
Order of numbers when counting
Addition and subtraction

In other words, you can use this game to practice math skills with your child from preschool through to grade two.

It's actually several games

Tiny Polka Dot is a deck of cards with numerals and different configurations of dots. There are instructions for over a dozen games. Some are meant for preschoolers and some are more challenging. This means that this same deck of cards can grow with your child.

Their website has lots of support and ideas

The Math for Love site has video demonstrations for how to play each game, strategies for how to play the games with your children, extra downloadable copies of the instructions, and lots of other resources about learning math.

It's portable

The cards come in a small, sturdy box that you can easily toss in a backpack or even a large purse. Some of the games can be played quickly. Some don't even require a tabletop. This means that you can play Tiny Polka Dot while waiting at swimming lessons or doctors' offices or on public transit.

It doesn't involve reading

Many math games have complex text on the cards. Not so with Tiny Polka Dot! The cards just have numerals and dots. Once your child knows how to play, they don't need to be able to read. Your pre-reader can still play with a friend or sibling without needing your help.

It's inexpensive

You can buy Tiny Polka Dot for under $20, depending on the retailer.

Canadians, take note that it's available on Amazon.com but not on Amazon.ca, so you need to pay for shipping. It's also available at some toy and book stores - there's a list on the website.