Recently a friend told me about the difficulties she was having teaching her students to ‘make change’.  A mistakenly simple addition and subtraction exercise, her students just weren’t getting it.  Some students simply returned the tendered amount.  Some students correctly calculated change, but then added the change back to the tendered amount and returned tendered amount plus change.  Seeing an opportunity for online math games in the classroom, I suggested she try a few games here at Math Chimp.

A few days later she called me to share her results. With the help of a few games, her students were taking greater care thinking through problems rather than hastily jumping to the easy and incorrect solution. We were happy she found our games helpful, so we set out to find pick our favorite games for counting money and share them in an early post here on our blog.

5 Favorite Games For Counting Money

We’ve picked 5 of our favorite math games with money and we hope you’ll check them out and tell us what you think.  We hope you get a change to see all of our math games with money.  Be sure to leave comments and tell us what you think.

#5.  Funbrain – Makin Change – Probably developed several years ago, but still relevant, Makin Change is a straightforward game for adding and subtracting money.  Like my teacher-friend mentioned, the process of making change can be difficult for students.  We like this game because we haven’t found many others that cover the topic and it’s hard to go wrong with a Funbrain game.

#4.  Money Honey – A little out of the realm of typical money counting games, Money Honey, helps students develop an english understanding of money amounts.  The student is presented with a monetary amount written in full language, and must type in the correct amount using numerals.  We’d really classify this as an english skill, but it’s a little different so we included it here.

#3.  Piggy Bank Counting – This game requires some gaming skill.  Piggy Bank is set up a bit like the old Tetris game.  As the clock counts down the student is provided with a coin that tracks down the game board.  The student selects coins to build their bank and tries build their bank to a specified amount.  This game is great for its gameplay.  The student not only needs to understand coin values, but must also develop mental strategies to build their bank account.  This game is best for advanced students that need a little challenge.

#2.  ABCya Money Counting – A few game-makers are pulling ahead in terms of game interactivity and control.  ABCya Money Counting is a great example of one of those games.  Students need pretty good mouse control and motor skills to be successful, but we’re finding they pick it up pretty easily.  This game is straight forward and is a no frills companion either teaching the class or on their own.

#1.  Dolphin Dash – We picked Dolphin Dash as our current favorite money counting game because it represents what we think is solid online educational gaming.  It’s easy to play, interactive, and social.  Players of Dolphin Dash race each other in a dolphin vs. dolphin race.  Players speed up their dolphin by picking coins that match the numeral presented.  What really sets this game apart is the social competition that students encounter.  Students can race each other online and build their dolphin’s speed faster than other players by getting questions correct more quickly than their competition.  This creates a shared experience with other students that is fun to play multiple times.  Equally fun with or without opponents, this game is great educational gaming!

Remember all of our online math games are free at Math Chimp.  Come play our time and money counting games.  You’re sure to find some you can *count* on…

- Harry