How do you provide time for mathematical thinking, logic and problem solving outside of the textbook? How can we encourage students to think logically and problem solve, rather than simply memorizing facts? There are always ways to encourage higher order thinking in the math classroom, and I love it when I find resources that can encourage this kind of logical reasoning with my kindergartener! 🙂
This week I have discovered a fun twist on Sudoku puzzles: Kidoku by Krazy Dad! I love the challenge and problem solving involved in working out sudoku puzzles, but let’s face it, they can be hard for adults, much less kids! But at the Krazy Dad website, you can find smaller versions of sudoku puzzles, making them much simpler to solve and understand.
There are hundreds of puzzles on the site, starting as easy as 4×4 puzzles, and then getting more challenging with 6×6 and 8×8 puzzles. I was interested to try it with my kids, so I explained and worked through very simple 4×4 puzzles with my 5 and 6 year old today. The concept is easy enough to understand, so they had no trouble figuring out the “missing number” when there was only 1 blank space, but had a harder time trying to think logically through where to go next, etc.
But they loved the challenge and I look forward to using these more in our homeschool! I especially love that there are SO many to choose from. Let me know if you’ve used this before, or how you and your kids like it! 🙂
~Math Geek Mama
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