5 Spooky 2nd Grade Halloween Math Centers for the Win!
Second Grade has been such a blast already, but I am crazy excited about October in the classroom with my older friends! Halloween, pumpkins, changing leaves – and let’s face it, all things Fall – make me so excited, and I love sharing that with my students. One of my favorite ways to incorporate the season is during our math block. I’ve loved our math curriculum, but definitely feel it is lacking in the game area so I created some Halloween-inspired games that not only hit the standards, but the kids also LOVE playing. Want to see the Kindergarten version of these games? Click here to see them.
I store all of these games in plastic bins so that kids can easily grab them for an early finisher activity, during our Friday flex time or during free choice. You can check out my favorite bins for math centers by clicking here (Amazon affiliate link). I love how neatly these store everything and how they help me promote independence with my students. On to the games!
Black Cat Bolt
We’ve been reviewing even and odd as well as place value. Black Cat Bolt is a game where students alternate turns rolling a die and identifying if they are searching for a number with an even/odd number in the hundreds, tens, or ones place of a number. With a little strategy added in, students try to get four numbers in a row. Easy prep, highly engaging, and we are building number sense!
Pumpkin Patch Number Puzzles
My kids this year have absolutely loved number puzzles. I love that they are practicing adding and subtracting 10 and one more one less as well as a variety of other strategies to identify the missing numbers. Pumpkin Patch Number Puzzles can easily be differentiated with the included cards that run 0-200, 201-400, 401-600, 601-800, and 801-1,000.
Frankensteven & Frankenstodd
With the next game we return to evens and odds, but with an addition and pattern hunting twist. Students take turns grabbing a handful of our Franken-friends and identifying their number as even or odd. After both have a turn, students add the numbers together and determine if the sum is even or odd. Frankensteven & Frankenstodd builds awareness that when we add two odd numbers together the sum is even, when we add two even numbers together the sum is even, and when we add an even and odd number together the sum is odd.
My Mummy’s Money
Money. I find this concept one of the most challenging to teach simply because students aren’t exposed to real money with the move towards debit cards. My Mummy’s Money helps students get hands-on practice exchanging varying coins and bills. Differentiate based on student needs with the included mats for Penny/Nickel/Dime, Penny/Dime/Dollar, and Nickel/Dime/Dollar.
Skeleton Sums
Mental math is a huge focus in Second Grade and Skeleton Sums is a favorite for continuing to build fluency. With two included version, I love this game! In the “Making 10” version students land on numbers and mentally determine the coordinating number that would equal 10. In the “Doubles” version students land on numbers and mentally double the number.
I’m excited to continue using these games to build math concepts throughout October. You can check these out on my TpT store by clicking the picture below!
