Exciting and Easy Counting Game Kids Love

Inside: You’ll get directions and tips for the best math game ever!

Every teacher needs a no prep, exciting game at their fingertips. It just makes life easier.

I have a simple, fun math game my kids love to play. It’s called Buzz.

They are always asking me when we can play it again! I’ve been playing this game for over 10 years and every single year it’s their favourite game.

We play it almost every day, either in morning meeting or at the beginning of our math lesson.

What’s great about Buzz is that it helps the kids practice their rote counting skills (forward, backward, and skip counting). So whatever skill you’re working on, you can vary the game to meet that need.

 

Buzz Directions for Counting by Tens

1. Everyone stands in a circle.
2. The special helper starts by saying 10.
3. The person next to them says 20 and so on around the circle.
4. When 100 is reached, the NEXT person says “Buzz”.
5. Then the next person sits down. So it’s “100, buzz, sit down”.
6. The game continues until there is only one person left standing.
7. They are the winner and the game is over.

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 Important Tips for Playing Buzz

1. Before we play this for the very first time we have a talk about good sportsmanship so that there are no hurt feelings. It’s never been a problem in my class because once the kids know how to play the game, it moves very quickly. And we play it several times a week, so everyone has lots of chances to win over the year.
2. I don’t allow any booing (of course) and the only cheering comes at the very end and it’s a cheer for everyone in the class. The winner and second to last person standing are expected to say “good game” to each other.
3. The kids who have been “buzzed” and are sitting down are encouraged to count along (quietly) while the game continues. I also challenge them to figure out who they think will be “buzzed” next. They become very very good at this and find it exciting when they figure it out correctly.
4. It helps to put the number sequence you’re practicing on the board, or highlighted on your number chart, so that the children who are still unsure of the counting pattern have a visual to refer to.

I hope you give the game a try. I’m confident your kids will be begging to play it over and over.

Thanks for reading!