Kindergarten Math Games Using Go Fish Cards

Whether your child is getting ready for kindergarten, or you want to reinforce or review kindergarten math concepts over the summer, there are several games that you can play using a deck of Go Fish cards that can take 10 minutes or less, are fun and are helpful.

You would think any old Go Fish deck would do but beware. We purchased a pack of Dora the Explorer Go Fish cards and the numbers were only printed on the right upper and left lower corners so that the number from only one card could be viewed when held overlapping in your hands.  Learning kids, or adults for that matter, don't need this kind of challenge. Make sure your deck is user friendly.

Standards for kindergarten math under "numbers and numbers sense" include recognizing numbers, counting with one to one correspondence and understanding more, less or the same. Math games with Go Fish cards will reinforce identifying numbers, counting sets up to four, and understanding more or less.

Traditional Go Fish: Remember this?

Everyone is probably familiar with traditional Go Fish games but here's a refresher if needed. Go Fish usually includes passing out 7 cards to each player. Each player will in turn ask the next "Do you have any fours (or whatever number they have chose)? A player can only ask for a card they hold and all cards held must be handed over if asked for. If a player does not have the card asked for, the next player will reply, "go fish." The asker will then draw a card from the deck and if they draw what they asked for they can go again. If not the game moves on. Whenever a player has gathered four matching numbers they can put down a match. The first player to unload all of their cards wins.

Sounds simple right? Until you try to play it with your four year old. Here are some variations to play with beginners or younger children until they get the hang of it.

Easier Variations: It can be done and it can be fun!

1. Hand out only 5 or even 4 cards per person at first.