Elevens Card Game

Get out a deck of cards and practice finding sums of 11 in this one-player math game! You'll lay out nine cards, then try to find sets of cards that add up to 11. This is excellent practice for any first grader working on her addition facts. By using playing cards, you'll be incorporating an element of fun into learning an important skill. Your child will feel more confident with adding in no time!

What You Need:

• Deck of playing cards

What You Do:

1. Shuffle the cards. Deal 9 cards into a 3 x 3 array, face up. Place the remaining deck face down, in a pack.
2. First, cover any face cards you see by taking cards from the deck and placing these cards face up on top of the face cards.
3. Then, look for combinations of cards that add up to 11. When you see a combination, take face cards from the deck and place them on top of these cards as well.
4. Continue until the pack is depleted, or there are no more possible moves.
5. If you have successfully used all the cards from your deck, congratulations! You've won!

Variations:

• Find sums of a different amount, such as 10, or 12.
• Change the value of face cards to jacks = 11, queens = 12, and kings = 13. You can add in jokers, have them count as "free" numbers, and cover them up immediately.
• Subtract to find a difference of 5. Make all face cards equal 11.