Easy Magnetic Flower Math Game for Kids

My little lady is all about exploring math concepts right now. Whether it’s numbers, measurement, grouping, addition, or subtraction, she loves it all. Of course, I’m more than happy to help foster those interests, and to do so, I’ve been creating some really simple math games that we can quickly pull out and play whenever the mood strikes. Our most recent one, a magnetic flower subtraction game, has been a total hit and took me less than 10 minutes to put together, start to finish.

To make your own magnetic flower subtraction game, you’ll need:

• craft foam
• adhesive magnetic squares
• card stock
• scissors
• a pencil
• a marker
• a magnetic surface (we used a baking sheet, but a magnetic board, easel, or fridge would work too!)

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The process of making this game really could not be easier. First off, cut out your foam parts. You’ll need a flower stem, a centre circle, and enough flower petals to go around your circle. (If you want your subtraction game to involve higher numbers, you’ll want to make smaller petals, and if you want your game to involve smaller numbers, you’ll be able to make the petals quite large.)

Next, add a magnetic square to the back of each foam flower part.  Press the magnetic tiles down firmly to ensure a good stick and that’s most of the game prepared!

The only thing that’s left to do is create the subtraction equation cards. Just for fun, I cut ours out into little cloud shapes before writing the subtraction questions on them, but obviously square or rectangular cards would work just as well.

Now you’re ready to play!

Start with the subtraction cards facing downwards and the flower petals off to the side. Invite your little one to flip over a card to reveal a subtraction equation. Read the question together and ask your child to place the correct number of petals onto the magnetic playing surface before plucking off the ones that need to be subtracted. (In this case, my little one created a four petal flower and then plucked all four petals off, which she thought was pretty funny.) Together, say the subtraction question aloud (“4 take away 4 equals 0”) before selecting a new card and starting again! 

I hope you enjoy this game, and be sure to check out our cute counting snowman and our simple apple tree addition game for more math fun.