Bubble Pop Math Games

Have you seen those fun bubble popping fidget toys? We keep seeing them all over the place. They’re made out of silicone, and they have rows of “bubbles” that you can pop from one side to the other, and they’re quite fun to play with. Well guess what, this simple little toy also makes a great math tool!

I was excited to find a 10 x 10 bubble pop toy on Amazon. It’s perfect for all kinds of math games!

These games are quite simple, and nothing earth-shattering. But hopefully they’ll provide a fun way to work on math skills!

Materials Needed:

Here is the 10 x 10 Bubble Pop Toy we ordered. It comes in several colors.

I would also recommend getting 12-sided math dice if you don’t have them already.

Game #1: Race to 100

This is perfect for ages 4 – 7 or so. If you have two 10 x 10 bubble pop toys, kids can play this game against a partner.

Start with all of the bubbles popped up. Players take a turn by rolling two dice, or one 12-sided dice and then popping that many bubbles. (We tried it with one dice, and it works, but makes the game take longer.) The first one to get all 100 bubbles popped wins!

Game #2: Make An Addition Fact

Roll a 12-sided dice. Then make an addition fact that adds up to that number! Use two different rows, one for each addend. So if you roll a 9, pop 5 bubbles in one row and 4 bubbles in the next row, for example. Have kids use a piece of paper and a marker to record the addition math sentences they create.

Game #3: Pop It and Subtract It

Make subtraction a breeze by popping bubbles! Ha! Solve 15 – 7 by pushing up 15 bubbles. Then pop 7 of them. How many are left? This is a great way to teach subtraction!

Use index cards to make some quick subtraction flash cards. Kids can use the bubble pop toy to figure out the answers for each one.

Game #4: Ways to Make 10

For this game, I popped up some bubbles in each vertical row. I made sure that each row had a different number of bubbles, but I didn’t just go in order from 1 to 10. Then I asked my daughter to write down the “making 10” math sentence represented by each row.

Game #5: Place Value

This is easy peasy, but could be very helpful for kids who need to “see” place value to get it. Give kids a number and have them build it with the bubble pop toy. For example, 47 would be 4 complete rows of 10 and then 7 ones. Practice with several different two-digit numbers. You can go all the way up to 100!

Game #6: Multiplication Arrays

This activity might be my favorite. Build multiplication arrays quickly and easily with this bubble pop toy!

So for example, if the math problem is 4 x 3, then pop 4 rows with 3 bubbles in each row. It’s easy to find the solution! And you can go all the way up to 10 x 10.

Again, you can quickly make your own worksheet with the facts you want your child to practice. And markers make everything more fun.

Game #7: SPEED Race to 100

This game is similar to the first, but it’s more about speed in popping than about math. Still, I’m including it because one of my sons suggested it, and it’s lots of fun!

Each player starts with all bubbles up. The first player takes their turn by rolling the dice as many times as it takes to get a 6. Once they roll a 6, they start popping bubbles as quickly as possible. They keep popping while the second player is simultaneously rolling the dice to try to get a 6. Once player 2 has rolled a 6, they start popping their own bubbles like crazy while player 1 STOPS popping and takes a turn with the dice again. Once player 1 rolls a 6, they can start popping again while player 2 stops popping, grabs the dice, and works on rolling another 6.

The first one to pop all 100 bubbles wins!

Have fun with bubble popping math games! And if you think of another game to add, leave a comment or send me an email!

Need more MATH ACTIVITY IDEAS? We’ve got tons!

Here’s a collection of LEGO Math Activities for Elementary. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, measurement, and more.

And here are some of the BEST Hands-On Multiplication Activities! There are perfect for kids who are learning the concept of multiplication. Some of the activities teach the geometric model of multiplication (arrays) while others show multiplication as repeated addition.