Addition Tic-Tac-Toe

My kids love playing tic-tac-toe – it’s one of those simple boredom-busters for restaurants and car rides.  Natalie and I have been using tic-tac-toe to practice her addition facts.  You have to solve the problem before you can put your marker on the space!  We do this on a small white board, so I can change the problems each round and not waste a pile of paper.  (If you don’t have a white board, draw the tic-tac-toe grid on paper, slip it into a sheet protector, and write with dry-erase markers.)

What other tic-tac-toe games could you create for your kids?  Here’s a few ideas:

• alphabet (say the letter sound)
• sight words
• shapes
• other types of math problems – subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, money counting, etc.

When I taught second grade, we also played a version where I filled each space with a word spelled incorrectly.  To put a marker on the space, the student had to correct the word first.  So much fun!

Tip of the day:  Choose a simple game that your child likes to play – Go Fish, Checkers, Tic-Tac-Toe, Hide & Seek – and think of a way to incorporate a skill that needs practice.