Game Set Math

Open the bag and open a child’s mind!It’s all about a new approach to teaching early childhood math! Your traditional old school number line looks great on your classroom wall but with GAME-SET-MATH® you have numbers at your fingertips throughout the day. This innovative product utilizes numbered tennis balls in an interactive and fun way. Developed in a University setting this proven new product teaches early childhood math more successfully. The bright numbered balls are perfect on the rug, in math centers or for groups ranging from 1 to 30 students.Whether the student is a visual learner, an auditory learner, a tactile learner or a kinesthetic learner, this hands-on approach encourages problem-solving, discovery and exploratory learning through 20 interactive games (included in each set).Research tells us that early math success with students results in more confident problem-solvers who perform better during testing and in the classroom. Our responsibility as adults – whether teachers or parents – is to deploy whatever tools are available to us to ensure that the foundation of all children’s early math skills and knowledge is reinforced and strong and thus capable of supporting their continued learning and interest in math.Math knowledge is a predictor of other learning outcomes including: mathematics, literacy, language development and executive function.

About Us

We are a husband and wife team of a technology executive and a former kindergarten teacher with a M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction. We successfully launched GAME-SET-MATH at the California Kindergarten Association’s PK1 Conference in Santa Clara, California on January 16, 2016. Our business is based in sunny Scottsdale Arizona.We started with numbered balls from 0-20 but have since expanded to 0-30 due to customer demand. We couldn’t agree more with these passionate teachers, parents and administrators — with more numbered balls you can do more math, with more kids at higher levels and with greater results!

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STEM & FAQs

What is STEM Education?

STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math! STEM education encourages a curriculum that is driven by problem-solving, discovery and exploratory learning and REQUIRES students to actively engage a situation in order to find a solution.

How does GAME-SET-MATH fit into STEM Education?

GAME-SET-MATH introduces important math concepts using specially designed numbered tennis balls. GSM tennis balls are colorful, perfectly suited for small hands and are fun to hold, move and manipulate. Through math games, children problem-solve, explore and discover solutions. GAME-SET-MATH can be used individually with one child and an adult, with small groups of children or an entire classroom.

What children’s learning style fits best with GAME-SET-MATH?

There are four main types of leaning styles and they all work very well with GAME-SET-MATH. They are: Visual (learn through seeing); Auditory (learn through hearing); Tactile (learn through touch) and Kinesthetic (learn through doing and moving.

Visual learners

Learn through seeing. Look at the bright yellow GSM tennis balls! Notice the numbers printed on each ball. Begin to work with the students. They will watch and learn through play! Children who are visual processors tend to observe a parent’s or teacher’s body language and facial expressions for content and learn through demonstrations and descriptions. They tend to have well-developed imaginations and often think in pictures.

Auditory learners

Learn through listening. Work in a quiet environment with the GSM tennis balls. Explain the games and challenge students to listen, participate and learn through play! Children who are auditory processors learn through participating in discussions and talking things through. Too much noise may be distracting and children with this strength may learn best in a quiet environment.

Tactile learners

Learn through touch. GSM tennis balls are hands-on! Allow students to touch, roll, manipulate and hold the balls. They will learn through doing! Children who are more tactile prefer activities or projects that allow them to use their hands.

Kinesthetic learners

Learn through moving and doing. GSM tennis balls and games are a perfect “match” for this type of student. Make math connections through active play! Children who are more kinesthetic learn through physical sensations and may have trouble sitting still for long periods. A hands-on approach that allows children to actively explore works best for this type of learner.

How can number lines built with GAME-SET-MATH be used to help a child add or subtract?

When you add, you count on and get a bigger number. When you subtract, you count back and get a smaller number. Look at the GSM number line. Notice that the value of the numbers get bigger when you go from left to right and the value of the numbers gets smaller when you go from right to left. When you add, you move from left to right. When you subtract, you move from right to left.

Steps to solving addition problems:

Remember that when you add using a number line you move from left to right. You are counting on or moving toward the bigger numbers. Put your left hand on the first number in the addition sentence. Move your right hand to the right, as many places as the second number in the addition sentence. Then number your right hand lands on is the solution!

Steps to solving subtraction problems:

Remember that when you subtract using a number line you move from right to left. You are counting back or moving toward the smaller numbers. Put your right hand on the first number in the subtraction sentence. Move your left hand to the left, as many places as the second number in the subtraction sentence. Then number your left hand lands on is the solution!

Concepts / Standards

Each of the 20 games included in the GSM set addresses early childhood standards. Our easy-to-follow game instructions list the specific standards designed into each game which include:

Counting and Cardinality (CC)

  • Know number names and the count sequence

  • Count to tell the number of objects

  • Compare numbers

  • Count to 100 by tens

  • Use numbers to represent quantities

Operations and Algebraic Thinking (OA)

  • Understand addition as putting together and adding to, and understand subtraction as taking apart and taking from.

  • Decompose numbers less than or equal to 10 into pairs in more than one way.

  • For any number from 1 to 9 find the number that makes 10 when added to the given number.

  • Add and subtract within 20.

  • Represent and solve problems involving addition and subtraction.

  • Work with addition and subtraction equations.

Number and Operations in Base Ten (NBT)

  • Work with numbers 11–19 to gain foundations for place value.

  • Understand tens, ones and place value.

Mathematical Practices (MP)

  • Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.

  • Reason abstractly and quantitatively.

  • Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.

  • Model with mathematics.

  • Use appropriate tools strategically.

  • Attend to precision.

  • Look for and make use of structure.

  • Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

GAME-SET-MATH and Early Childhood Math Vocabulary

  • Research shows that vocabulary instruction is positively correlated to comprehension. The combination of linguistic and non-linguistic representations promotes deeper understanding of content-area vocabulary.

  • Keep in mind that the objective is to introduce math vocabulary to preschool and kindergarten children as they explore math ideas with concrete objects, not to make them memorize vocabulary. Teach math vocabulary as naturally as you would introduce the names of different foods, animals, places or things. The more children hear math vocabulary used with everyday activities, the more they will begin to use it correctly.

GAME-SET-MATH Math Vocabulary list:

  • Number

  • Count

  • Order

  • Numerical order

  • Sequence

  • Set

  • Quantity

  • Number line

  • Count by 2’s, 5’s, 10’s

  • Multiples of 2

  • Even number

  • Odd number

  • Compare numbers

  • Larger

  • Smaller

  • Fewer than

  • More than

  • The same as

  • Different from

  • Less than

  • Equal to

  • Not equal

  • Greater than

  • Ones

  • Tens

  • Tens and ones

  • Place value

  • 2-digit number

  • Compose

  • Decompose

  • Addition

  • Subtraction

  • Add

  • Subtract

  • Plus

  • Minus

  • Right

  • Left

  • Counting on

  • Counting back

  • Before

  • After

  • First

  • Last

  • Smallest to biggest

  • Solution

  • How many?

  • Guess

  • Estimate

  • Calendar

  • Date

  • Day

  • Today

  • Tomorrow

  • Yesterday

  • Week

  • Month

  • Year