Online Games to Improve Your Child's Math Skills

The Math Struggle

Do you remember your days as a student? Did you fear math class, loath math homework and dread the inevitable math test?

I did. I still get nervous if someone asks me anything that requires a little quick computation and promptly excuse myself from the conversation. I do not , however, want to pass this fear down to my children. I want math to be a positive experience. I'll settle for not excruciating!

We are all gifted in different areas, and for the child who is not a math whiz, there are plenty of resources to help them survive and maybe enjoy the process of learning the essential and sometimes irritating math skills.

If your child is struggling with math, or even if they are great with numbers online games and math homework help websites can help them catch up or excel in Math.

Welcome to Math Playground
Action packed math site for elementary and middle school students featuring math games, math word problems, math worksheets, logic puzzles, and math videos.

The Best Math Site for Kids

Let's get right to the point. I searched far and wide to find the best sites that are free, child safe, contain limited advertising and provide excellent content and games that will keep my kid's attention for more than 30 seconds.

My all around favorite site is Math Playground. Designed for elementary and middle school students, this site has features your child will enjoy and really learn from. It offers games, help and activities from basic computation practice to learning programming.

Here are a few examples:

How to do (almost anything) in math: a video collection that thoroughly answers questions submitted by students
Logic Games
Math at the Mall: percent shopping game
Word problem games
Timez Attack: a game to master multiplication
Collaborative math project
Printable worksheets

Math Playground is a highly rated, kid safe site.

Online Math Games, Learning Resources and Homework Help

These sites have a wide variety of activities to offer your child. If they get bored with certain games, they can move on to another. Also, as their skills develop and advance, different sites will fit their needs.

Math Catches Up With You

Can You Answer These Questions?

	Zoombinis Logical Journey Price: $2.55 List Price: $19.99
	The Everything Kids' Math Puzzles Book: Brain Teasers, Games, and Activities for Hours of Fun (Everything Kids Series) Price: $0.78 List Price: $7.95
	FLY Through™ Math: Multiplication & Division Price: $3.18 List Price: $34.99
	Mighty Math Carnival Countdown Price: $0.01 List Price: $29.95

Funbrain
Math Arcade - 25 math games including Ball Hogs, Mummy Hunt, Bumble Numbers. Register on your first visit and pick up where you left off next time!
Apples 4 the Teacher
An extensive collection of free educational elementary and preschool math games and online lessons. Math lessons and activities on counting backwards, counting by twos, fives, and tens, number sense games, telling time with interactive clocks and mo
Cool Math 4 Kids
Math games, fun lessons, puzzles and brain benders, flash cards, math dictionary, fractals, geometry reference and a preschoolers section.
Play Kids Games.com
Online kids games, alphabet games and math. Not an extensive math site, but there are a few fun games here.
LearningPlanet
Math games arranged by age and grade level. A larger selection of games are accessible if you subscribe to their service.
SuperKids
Create your own math facts worksheets.
Cyberchase | PBS Kids
Games and activities based on the popular PBS show. Includes a guide for parents.
Prongo
Prongo.com has fun, interactive, educational kids games. Math games and puzzles organized by age range. There is advertising present on this site.
Money
From the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Money lesson plans, history of American money. Play games like Design your own bill and send it to a friend, fun facts and trivia, a free printable book with puzzles and activities.
iKnowthat
This site includes more than just math, including parent and teacher forums, interactive games organized by subject and grade level from preschool through elementary.
PATH - Pupils Ask, Teachers Help
Free live homework help. Providing solutions to help parents and students with homework through message boards, full web pages to explain various topics or emailing a teacher for a direct answer.
WebMath
From basic math help through calculus, this site provides help on all math topics.
Cosmeo
Cosmeo math is a paid service for students in 3rd grade through calculus. The student selects the textbook they are using, enters the page number and problem and will receive an explanation. View a demo or test it out with a free trial.
Ask Dr. Math
Free ask-an-expert math help service. Ask Dr. Math a question using the Dr. Math Web form, or browse the extensive archive of previous questions and answers.
The Beehive School
Free homework help center. Start with grade level and explore topics.

Encourage and Reward

It is possible, that no matter how you try, your child will still not believe that math is fun. Math is usually fun for people who are good at it. For the rest of us, it is best to try to limit the pain of math by making it easier to understand. Reward and encourage your child for their efforts. Math phobias are born out of a lack of confidence, and are difficult to overcome. Daily encouragement and enthusiasm will be remembered and leave a lasting impression on your child.