Software
2024-02-16 Update:
We just received this email with suggestions for another link from Mrs. Olley and Lisa. We are happy to share this resource and to help Lisa.
I'm getting in touch to thank the members of the Butterfly Children's Development Center -- your software page had some fantastic math sites! My name is Mrs. Olley, and I'm one of the youth services tutors at our library here in New Hampshire. I'm currently helping a group of students with a consumer math project! You listed some wonderful websites to share with the kids! We really appreciate the help! My student Lisa has also asked me to send you this collection of money math/business games and practice sites:
https://llcattorney.com/business-info/business-money-and-math-games-learning-while-having-fun
There are many practical, everyday math lessons and games for all ages. Lisa was very excited to share it with you! She said the shopping games were really fun and thought other students would enjoy it! Can you include it here for her? (www.butterflychildren.org/computer-classroom/software) ...I'd love to share this with Lisa's teacher if you include it! I'm hoping she'll get some extra credit! The next round of report cards comes out in 2 weeks, and she said she could really use some help.
2022-10-04 Update:
Mark, an inspirational math teacher I just met in Thimphu, Bhutan, shared some resources with me. Here they are:
Free graphing calculator: https://www.desmos.com
https://www.explodingdots.org/
From the University of Cambridge: https://nrich.maths.org
2021-07-01 Update:
Elizabeth from plays.org suggested I include their math games here. Their website says that:
Children can enjoy our free online mathematics games to learn and practice addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and more.
No Apps, No Software Downloads!
All games are browser-based. Our catalog is rendered in mobile-friendly HTML5, offering cross-device gameplay. You can play on mobile devices like Apple iPhones, Google Android powered cell phones from manufactures like Samsung, tablets like the iPad or Kindle Fire, laptops, and Windows-powered desktop computers. All game files are stored locally in your web browser cache. These games work in Apple Safari, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Opera and other modern web browsers.
It looks like they have a great selection of math games to choose from. Check it out at:
Her favorite game is:
https://plays.org/guardians-defenders-of-mathematica/
2020-10-09 Update:
Pigly is a free math and finance guide offering over 100 interactive calculators to help teach students about math and money. They recently also created a featured guide about the history of calculators for kids which shows all the different ways we use calculators in our day to day lives.
pigly.com/calculators/for-kids/
2020-07-10 Update:
"Hannah found this money math guide last night which I was very impressed with! I thought it would make a welcomed addition to your page! This is it... www.titlemax.com/articles/titlemax-money-games
I'd love to show Hannah and her troop leader if you include it! I think encouragement does wonders in kids and I know she'd get a kick out of it :)"
2019-10-21 Update:
"As a Dad of a 4th grader, I wanted to send the team at Butterfly Children's Development Center my thanks for putting together your Software page. As a thank you, I wanted to send you this other math guide we used this week. This is it: www.zenbusiness.com/info/math-and-business-activities-for-young-entrepreneurs/ Thank you again; You're helping more families than you think! Have a good weekend, Steven" Thank you Steven for your suggestion!
2019-08-08 Update:
From Carly Roberts: The page has a ton of different resources all pertaining to money and financial math. (Addition, Subtraction, Couponing, and a ton more.) I think it'll make a great addition to your page if you wanted to add it? https://couponfollow.com/research/couponing-for-kids Thank you Carly for sharing this resource!
2018-09-14 Update:
Since it now been five years since the Computer Lab was operational this page is more archival than an up-to-date resource. We continued to help the Butterfly Children with their secondary school mathematics. We really like www.ixl.com website that includes the K-12 common core math curriculum. It is possible to subscribe one month at a time. We have continued to use and recommend DragonBox Algebra. www.dragonboxapp.com
One of our readers Elliot also found this fun page that's been a great help to him as well - https://onlinebusiness.northeastern.edu/neu-mst/math-and-business-resource-for-kids/ . It is also a curated list of mathematics software. He was thinking that it'd be a cool replacement for your broken link, "tux4kids.alioth.debian.org/tuxmath". It's too bad this link is no longer working because it was a favorite.
2019-02-01
One of our readers Nikki suggested this website www.homeadvisor.com/r/home-school-math-games-resource listing math resources for home-schooling.
Crayon Physics Deluxe is a 2D physics puzzle/sandbox game, in which you get to experience what it would be like if your drawings would be magically transformed into real physical objects. Solve puzzles with your artistic vision and creative use of physics.
TuxMath is an arcade game that helps kids practice their math facts.
tux4kids.alioth.debian.org/tuxmath
TuxTyping is an educational typing tutor for kids starring Tux, the Linux penguin.
http://tux4kids.alioth.debian.org/tuxtype
Faronics Deep Freeze Restores the computers to their previous configuration when rebooted. This means the children cannot harm or change the computers by pressing buttons. We just reboot them when they are finished and they are back to normal. This has eliminated maintenance from unintentional student error to nothing. We recommend this software for all children's or public computers. www.faronics.com
Machinarium is a challenging puzzle-adventure game without language. It emphasizes reading and following instructions, completing tasks in sequence, and remembering information. This game has won international awards and is now available on the iPad Machinarium
GCompris is a collection of 118 educational computer games for children. Free for most games, but a small donation unlocks all games. www.GCompris.net
Jeopardy www.superteachertools.com/jeopardy/ Create Jeopardy games online and play them offline. All teams write down the answers and place them in the answer box before the timer expires. This free game is the best we have seen.
Nullpomino is a free Tetris Game code.google.com/p/nullpomino/
Cogs is the basic sliding block puzzle made interesting with pipes, steam, movement, and added dimensions. http://www.cogsgame.com/
Here again is the link for the Timez Attack addition/subtraction/multiplication/division game. www.bigbrainz.com
Here is the link for Sokikom, the online math game that includes the mathematics core curriculum www.sokikom.com
ThinkFun makes challenging and creative games. These games are not computer games so we can play them if there is no electricity. By watching children play these games, you can actually watch them think! ThinkFun Educational Insights Castle is one of our favorites. www.thinkfun.com/
Mathematics Worksheets: I like the site: www.worksheetworks.com to print mathematics worksheets. The children enjoy these, perhaps because they are not used to working from worksheets like these. Their school textbooks have a few examples, so I think they need lots more practice. This site allows you to customize the worksheets. Here is a similar site: www.math-aids.com/ Here is another website with pre-made worksheets. www.homeschoolmath.net/worksheets
Mathlines: This game teaches 10's complement subtraction. It only takes a minute to learn. The players are rewarded with new levels of gameplay. We recommend this game to any student learning addition and subtraction. https://www.coolmathgames.com/1-addition-subtraction-games
Dragonbox: http://wewanttoknow.com/algebra/ This game and others originate from http://centerforgamescience.org/games/ at the University of Washington. Treefrog Treasure is a great game to begin with. http://centerforgamescience.org/portfolio/treefrog-treasure/