What follows was translated from this post by Jane Kats. The game described was played by children ages 5-6, but I feel that a variation of it could be fun for older kids, or even adults. Ideas?
When I was little, we played a game called broken telephone.
During our lesson today, we invented a new variation of this game.
Children are running around, around, “snowflakes were twirling and joined in pairs”. Now one child in each pair has to use a finger to draw some dots on the back of another. The second child has to guess how many dots were drawn.
Next, the snowflakes were twirling and joined in threes.
The triples make a train. The third person draws dots on the back on the second and the second reproduces those dots on the back of the first. The first person now has to say how many dots reached them.
With two people it’s a lot easier.
And if the train consists of three or four people, then the children are not always able to
– draw the dots without counting out loud
– correctly determine the number of dots
– correctly draw the same amount on someone else’s back.
This turned out to be a great game.
Musings of a Mathematical Mom 