Smush is a play-based math fluency tool that builds number sense through repeated, low-pressure practice with number bonds — the foundational addition-decomposition skill underlying U.S. Common Core standards and the cornerstone of Singapore Math's primary curriculum.
Each round fixes one target number and the child's job is to make it as many different ways as they can — 10 is 4+6, then 3+7, then 5+5. A running list beside the board fills in with each new way discovered. One five-minute session yields dozens of natural reps of “what makes 10,” the same drill teachers run with ten-frames or number-bond diagrams, but driven by the child's own choices and reinforced by immediate visual feedback.
Pick a grade (K–4) on the title screen and the target band rises to fit: make-5 and make-10 bonds in Kindergarten, climbing to sums of 16–20 by Grade 4. Within each grade the ten rounds escalate gently. When a single pair can't reach the target, children build a chain (combine smaller tiles first, then pop), so the game grows from spot-the-pair into genuine composition and decomposition. The end-of-round card shows every way to make the number with the ways found filled in and the ways missed dashed out (“3 of 5 ways to make 10”) — a built-in nudge to seek the partitions not yet explored, supporting strategic over rote learning.
Each round sets one goal animal — a creature whose size matches its number (a 🐜 ant is 1, a 🐘 elephant is 10, a 🐋 whale is 20) — and the child's job is to catch it as many different ways as they can: 10 is 4+6, then 3+7, then 5+5. Each catch pens the animal on the board and adds to a running list of the bonds discovered. One five-minute session yields dozens of natural reps of “what makes 10,” the same drill teachers run with ten-frames or number-bond diagrams, but driven by the child's own choices.
Pick a grade (K–4) on the title screen and the goal animals grow to fit: make-5 and make-10 bonds in Kindergarten, climbing to sums of 16–20 by Grade 4. Two animals dragged together add up: land exactly on the goal and you catch the animal; fall short and they grow into a bigger animal to keep building on; overshoot and the animal runs away. So the game grows from spot-the-pair into genuine composition and decomposition. The end-of-round card shows every way to make the number with the ways found filled in and the ways missed dashed out (“3 of 5 ways to make 10”) — a built-in nudge to seek the partitions not yet explored, supporting strategic over rote learning.
Aligned Common Core Standards
- K.OA.A.3 — Decompose numbers ≤ 10 into pairs in more than one way
- K.OA.A.4 — Find the number that makes 10 when added to a given number
- 1.OA.B.3 — Apply properties of operations as strategies to add and subtract
- 1.OA.C.6 — Add and subtract within 20, demonstrating fluency for addition within 10
- 2.OA.B.2 — Fluently add within 20; know from memory all sums of two one-digit numbers
There is no timer and no “game over” — a round ends on a pop quota or whenever the child chooses to stop, always on a small celebration, so a class interruption never lands on a failure. Stars and a daily streak are kept per grade. Sound effects and music each have an on/off toggle and a volume slider in the options panel (top-right) — headphones are recommended for a shared classroom. Low-floor / high-ceiling design makes it suitable for whole-class K–2 instruction, math-center rotation, and tier-2 intervention with Grade 3–4 learners building automaticity.
There is no timer and no “game over” — a round ends when the child fills the zoo (a collection quota) or whenever they choose to stop, always on a small celebration, so a class interruption never lands on a failure. An over-the-goal animal simply runs away — a gentle miss, never a penalty. Stars and a daily streak are kept per grade. Sound effects and music each have an on/off toggle and a volume slider in the options panel (top-right) — headphones are recommended for a shared classroom. Low-floor / high-ceiling design makes it suitable for whole-class K–2 instruction, math-center rotation, and tier-2 intervention with Grade 3–4 learners building automaticity.
