You can use giant dice to teach kids how to identify numbers and solve basic equations. Purchase or create your own giant dice for this game. To play, instruct your kindergartners to sit in a circle on the floor. One student will start off by rolling the dice on the floor. Then that student must say the number that is displayed on the dice's side facing up. If the side shows six dots, then the student must say "six." It is another student's turn to roll the dice. He must say the number facing up after his roll. At this point in the game, one of the two students who rolled in the round must quickly add the two numbers that were rolled together and shout out the answer. For instance, if the first student rolled a four and the second student rolled a two, then the kindergartner who yells "six" first wins the round. If neither of the students get it correct, the teacher calls on another student in the circle. After the round, two other students are selected to play, and the game continues until everyone has had a chance to roll the dice.
A file folder counting game uses regular office file folders as game boards. Prepare for the game by pasting 10 stickers to one section of the file folder. Then, in another section, paste 15 stickers of a different image. The stickers should increase by five until you reach 30. For the game, each student has to count the number of stickers in each section and write the answer underneath. So, if the student counts 15 stickers, he writes the number 15 next to that section. The student who finishes the file folder counting game first wins. (You can draw the images instead of using stickers, to be more economical.)
Number jump is a physically active game that gets kindergartners out of their seats. All of the students line up in the classroom, with desks and chairs moved out of the way. Call out a number with a math direction in front if it, such as "plus two." Students must then make two jumps forward. If you say, "minus three," then students take three jumps backwards. For a more challenging version, give math equations, such as "two plus two." Students must take four jumps forward. By the end of the game, kindergartners have learned about math and have released a lot of energy.
Highest Cards is a game that uses one deck of cards for each pair of players, with the face cards and aces removed. Students pair up into teams of two and each receive half a deck of cards. The students must shuffle the cards. On your mark, the students each turn over their top card. The student with the highest card collects the other player's card, and then they draw cards again. This math game is a variation on the card game War. This game helps kindergartners identify cards and rank them in terms of lowest to highest.