Let's Play Garbage!
Introduction
A fun way to get your child school ready is by playing simple, hands-on games that build early math confidence. Card games can help children visualize math concepts through play—and offer a great alternative to screen time.
Does your family know how to play Garbage? This is a fun card game that helps young children—especially preschoolers and kindergartners—learn important math skills.This game is very helpful because it uses a setup like a ten frame. A ten frame is a simple grid (like a 2×5 box) that your child will use in school. It helps children quickly see the number 10 and understand concepts like counting and place value. Because the 10 cards in this game are laid out in two rows of five, playing Garbage helps your child start to recognize the ten frame!
Gather Materials
One standard deck of playing cards (Be sure to remove the Jokers, Kings, Queens, Jacks) We want to focus only on numbers 1-10
Note: Small parts pose a choking hazard and are not appropriate for children age five or under. Be sure to choose lesson materials that you feel are safe for your child and that you are comfortable letting your child use.
Activity
- Each player is dealt 10 cards.
- The cards are placed face down in front of each child in two rows of five. This arrangement is designed to look like a ten frame!
- The rest of the cards are placed in the center of the table as a draw pile.
- Ask Player #1 to draw a card from the draw pile and look at it. Let's say it is a FIVE.
- Player #1 will count to her fifth card, remove it, and replace it with the five card, face up in its location.
- Player #1 will then look at her newly acquired card (the one she just removed) and determine where she can play that card. She continues to play as long as she can replace a face-down card with a new number.
- A turn ends if a player draws a number card that has already been played (i.e., its spot is already face up).
- The first player to complete an entire set of 10 cards facing up in order is the winner.
I love this card game for so many reasons, but the main one is its resemblance to the design of a ten frame. Garbage—with its two rows of five cards—can be an incredibly effective way to strengthen early math skills because the cards are arranged in a pattern that children recognize or will recognize from their ten-frame activities.
That small deck of playing cards contains a lot of math just waiting to be explored. As this game progresses, you'll have many opportunities to observe and assess each player's number sense.
Number sense is all about recognizing patterns, making connections, and understanding the value of numbers. As your child plays this simple game, they are also developing their number-recognition skills and beginning to grasp concepts such as number value, greater than, and less than.
Ready to get started? Check out this How to Play Garbage video for step-by-step instructions. Then grab a deck of cards and let the learning begin! Be sure and find more math building card play on our Early Math Counts website where you will find blogs and lesson ideas that will make learning number sense fun!