SUMUP-TO-20 is a game designed to teach children how to recognize numbers and perform their first additions, using cards from the MATHnimals Preschool Math Games engineered by ChildUp Early Education. However, you can also create your own deck of cards. It’s easy and totally free!
Rules of the Game
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SUMUP-TO-20 can be played by 2, 3, or 4 players.
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Get the first four (4) Collections from your MATHnimals deck: 1. Farm Animals, 2. African Mammals, 3. Birds, and 4. Aquatic Animals. Select the cards with numbers 0 to 10 from each collection. You should have a deck of 4 x 11 cards = 44 cards.
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Players draw lots (there are many ways to draw lots using the cards) to see who gets the first turn (PlayerOne). Starting with PlayerOne, the order of turns will go from left to right (clockwise).
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PlayerOne shuffles the deck of 44 cards, numbers face up. PlayerTwo cuts the deck.
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Picking cards from the top of the deck, PlayerOne distributes one card to each participant in sequence (numbers face up, but players can count the animals on the other side at any time). This process repeats, with the cards laid out in rows in front of each player.
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The goal for each round: Players use ANY of their own cards to race and be the first to get the EXACT SUM of 20 (numbers or animals). So speed matters.
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As soon as a player thinks she/he has the correct sum for the current round, she/he says “Sumup!” and brings forward the respective cards, adding aloud the numbers or animals on the cards up to 20.
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If the total is correct, the player wins the round and earns 20 points (the teacher/parent should keep a tally of the points). If the total is wrong, the player is eliminated from the round.
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The first player who wins 5 rounds (5 x 20 points = 100 points), or 10 rounds (10 x 20 points = 200 points in the extended version) wins the whole game, along with a small reward (perhaps a fruit, a few pennies, or a high-five) that should be decided at the start of the game.
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SUMUP-TO-20 is not an easy game for children taking their very first steps in math and just beginning to discover numbers. However, they can start playing SUMUP-TO-10 instead. In this case, the goal for each round is to get the EXACT SUM of 10, with animals or numbers face up.
Have a lot of fun!
Picture: SUMUP-TO-20 - ChildUp Preschool Math Game
