Free Math Learning Games for Children Aged 5-18 Years

Math skills are the foundation of all STEM disciplines, and are also important in everyday life. To build math skills, it is important for children to spend time practicing so they can test their understanding and aid memorization; however, general math exercises can become boring for students after a while. Students can continue their progress by rotating some math games into their practice routine. So today I’m going to share some of my favorite free math learning games for kids.

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Find Free Math Learning Games For Kids

When choosing math games for your child, it is important to ensure they are age appropriate, as this will ensure your student feels comfortably challenged. The four options below all offer web-based play on their easy-to-access sites.

1. PBS Kids Math Games

In addition to their various successful TV productions, PBS also offers fantastic web-based and app-based educational games. These games are based on characters from their TV shows, helping children to relate and engage with the activities. Unlike other services, PBS Kids stays fresh and fun by adding new games every week. Because PBS uses donations, it will never show distracting ads, so your child can safely focus on the content at hand. For those who prefer mobile devices, PBS kids is also available on the App Store and Google Play Store.

Best for value: Pre-k through 3rd

2. Math Playground

Another web-based gaming service, Math Playground offers many math games for elementary age students. Games are organized into categories including by grade, topic area, or problem type (i.e. story problems vs. practice). The included exercises cover the basic areas of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and also cover topics including geometry, fractions, and ratios. No account is required for this service (or even available). The site lends itself to quick, one-off play, rather than steady, tracked progress.

Best for value: K to the 6th

3. BBC Bite Size

BBC Bitesize is a free service offering games, study materials and instructional videos designed to help children complete their homework. The site is organized by subject and level, and includes games for a wide age range. Unlike other services, Bitesize aims to personalize students’ experiences by allowing them to organize materials with their Bitesize account. What makes this service great is that it provides traditional lecture-style games and notes/videos, so students can learn formal concepts, and then apply them in fun games like Guardians: Defenders of Mathematica! Another cool part of Bitesize is the Careers page, which features interviews of professionals in various fields to show students the variety of career options they have.

Best for value: Pre-k through the 10th

4. Time table

The times tables are focused on-you guessed it- multiplication! It is very important for children to memorize their times tables, and the only way to achieve this is to repeat them often. Of course, repeating the same graph over and over again gets tiring, which is why multiplication tables.com offers a number of free multiplication games. Students can create accounts to monitor their progress, and teachers/parents can also create accounts to get an overview of their students’ progress and learning habits. For those interested, the site also offers free timed assessments in standard times table format, which children can receive a diploma for completing!

Best for value: 2nd to 4th

Explore Math Games Apps For Kids

Android and iOS users need look no further than the next three educational math apps.

1. Khan Academy Kids Application

Khan Academy Kids is an award-winning app, targeted at Pre-K through third grade students covering math as well as reading and writing content. This app is 100% free, without any ads or subscriptions. The activities in this app are designed to target the Common Core and Head Start Early Learning curriculum, with one study concluding that it can help 4-5 year old students make significant progress in reading comprehension. This app uses books, songs, and games to provide students with a variety of learning experiences. Parents can track their children’s progress by subjects, and can also create a weekly planner or daily schedule for their children. This app is great for providing an organized, linear progression through content.

Best for value: Pre-k through 3rd

Download at: iOS or Android

2. Rocket Math App for Kids

Rocket Math was originally a series of pen and paper worksheets by Dr. Don Crawford, an educator and author with more than 40 years of experience. He adapted the series into a free app that focuses on giving students some short, simple exercises to try every day. It covers the basics of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division in a space-themed game. There are a total of 26 levels to go through, each with 3 achievements representing three different levels of difficulty. There is a dashboard in the app for parents and teachers to track student progress (note that tracking some seats requires purchasing a subscription).

Best for value: K to the 5th

Download at: iOS or Android

3. Marble Junior Mathematics Application

The Marble Junior Math math game about marbles, is designed to help students hone their mental math skills. Based on the Common Core curriculum, children solve math problems to help marbles roll through a maze. Kids can unlock new marbles as they increase their high scores in various subjects. In addition to practicing basic math skills, this app also includes time/hour practice reading and counting money.

Best for value: K to 3rd grade elementary school

Download at: iOS or Android

Enjoy Free Math Games For Kids

Whether on the web, on an Apple Device, or on Android, students can use games to develop their math skills. As cool as these games are, they are all solo play or played against artificial intelligence, which is not as exciting as playing with other people. One way to have students compete against each other is using Kahoot!, a quiz game where students answer multiple choice questions from their phones. The game is live, so student responses and scores are determined in real time. Check out the tutorial for making Kahoot! game for some ideas.

Mathematics is a core part of successful engineering. So, keep improving your students’ skills in our fun online Minecraft Redstone Engineering classes. Redstone is one of the most powerful elements in Minecraft. You can think of it like an electrical circuit in Minecraft. As with electrical circuits, highly advanced automated machines in Minecraft can be created based on a combination of Minecraft components and creative engineering.

Written by Create & Learn instructor Dominic Occhietti. Dominic is a graduate of Michigan State University, where he studied music performance and computer science. She really enjoys teaching, whether it’s coding classes, French horn lessons, or even downhill skiing lessons!