This review of Sunya Publishing is a little bit different than the other reviews that I get to share with you. This company is so brand new that the kids and I along with my fellow Crew members and their families are some of the first people to get to enjoy this game. Math is not quite one of my kids’ favorite subjects in school so getting to review Sunya – The Magic and Wonder of Math and Science Adding & Subtracting sure eases the pain of math class!
Sunya – The Magic and Wonder of Math and Science Adding & Subtracting
There are a bunch of different elements that came in our review package. Here is a peek at what we received:
- a paperback spiral bound guidebook
- a set of number playing cards for adding and subtracting (this includes numbers 0 -9, a plus sign, a minus sign, and an equals sign)
- a set of math and science fact and riddle cards
- a number line that runs from -3 through 21
The playing cards feel like they are made of a plastic coated type of paper. I’m not sure what it is but it is more durable than regular playing cards! The guidebook came to me printed in mostly black and white, with a few pages in color. I have to be honest, the directions are much easier for me to read and understand with the offset of colors. It helps break up the pages and information a lot, therefore making it a lot easier for me to understand, which in turn makes it easier for me to explain the directions.
So here is an interesting fact that I want to share about the product. The name itself is so unique and it is a fascinating piece of historical fact.
Sunya is a word from Sanskrit, the ancient and classical language of the Hindis. Sunya means “empty” or “void of any quantity”.
You will see why this is interesting and important in just a moment.
The basic object of this card game is to learn math and science. The company though found a fun way to encourage outside the box thinking and memory skills with this game.
Without going into too much detail and overwhelming you with semantics, here is the object of the number playing cards adding and subtracting game:
- 1 – 5 players, youngest player goes first
- dealer lays out a number sentence
- for addition it would look like this: 4 + 3 = 7
- for subtraction it would like like this: 9 – 6 = 3
- each player gets 4 cards
- if they can create a NEW number sentence using the cards in their hands, they put the cards over the original number sentence.
- if they cannot create a NEW number sentence, they must draw a card from the pick-up pile
- Once you are able to rid yourself of all of your number cards by creating a correct number sentence (as long as the number isn’t 1 or 0) you say, “Sunya!”
- Then if you can answer the fact question from the math and science fact and riddle cards, you win!
There are some alternative ways of playing the game listed in the guidebook. There are also some math activities list for younger kids too in the back of the guidebook. Things like:
- using the number cards as flash cards
- using the number cards for sequencing
- using the number cards for matching
- using the number cards for making equations
- using the number cards to complete equations
Last in the guidebook are some fun math “magic” and more fun facts for the kiddos to enjoy.
How This Worked for Us
It was a bit rough at the get go for us. The directions had us up, down, and sideways a few times but once we got the hang of the game, it is really fun! There is a fierce competitive streak in all of us here, so games tend to bring out the worst in some of us. And no, I will not name names . . . okay, I will ONLY admit that these kids of mine come by this honestly.
The ease of the game is that once you learn the rules, there is nothing but fun to be had! This game was played with Ana, Joseph, and myself. This way I could help them with the rules as well as act as referee when need be.
Once we came time to bring out the fact and riddle cards, well, I had them completely hooked. We are trivia junkies around here, so this was a cool element that we loved.
I did switch up the way I used this a teeny bit with Joseph. Using the number cards and the plus sign or minus sign, I had him create number sentences. Then he would make up a funny word sentence to go with it. For example, he created the number sentence 3 + 6 = 9 then he said, “There was a house that had three cats and six kittens, which means there was nine furry trouble makers.” It allowed him to not be so overwhelmed with the desire to win and he was able to work on his math skills better on his level.
Sunya is an interesting concept but it works rather well. After playing a few games I could see that their recall memory was working a little more quickly than it had been. There was some frustrations, usually when a number sentence was incorrect, but overall, the kids enjoyed “playing” math instead of having to “do” math. Shhh, don’t remind them that it is totally still math!
Check out this worked for my fellow Crew members:
I hope you enjoyed this review and will visit again soon to see what else the kids and I have to share.
In His Grace.
Callie
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