Addition without Worksheets or Flashcards: POINT

If you have a child at home practicing addition, Point is a great game to print off and play with them. It is much more engaging than flashcards or worksheets, and involves much more mathematical reasoning.

This game has two types of cards - numbered dot cards and tile cards. The dot cards are dealt out to all of the players and the tile cards are placed face down in the middle with the first one turned up. The tile card shown has 9 gold bars. Players have the opportunity to use 2 or more numbers to total 9. The player must prove to the other players their cards add up to the tile card number before getting rid of their cards. The winner is the player who gets rid of all their cards first.

Tile Card

As you play with your children, watch to learn how they count and add. Ask them to explain how their combination adds up to the tile card's number by asking, "How do you know that adds up to 9?" Do they always count one at a time? Do they count on from a larger number (Example - the tile card on the right has 9 gold bars. Do they start with 5 and count on 6, 7, 8, 9? Or do they start with 1 and count each bar up to 9? Be prepared to explain your combination cards as well!

As you play more games, you may find them figuring out the strategy of saving their small cards (1s and 2s) to make larger numbers to be able to get rid of their cards more quickly.

Keep a tally of who wins each hand and add again to figure out  who won the most.

Click here for a PDF to print all the game cards. We include a backing for the dot cards and tile cards, but you can eliminate those to save ink. Important: When you are ready to cut apart the tile cards, cut on the red lines.