Maths 69

The concept of symmetry can be confusing for young minds. It is great idea to start with familiar objects that are naturally symmetrical. Randomly decorate one butterfly wing then challenge your child to match the pattern on the other wing. 

Paper chains are a fun craft activity but they can also be useful for maths! Learning the 10 number bonds (numbers that add to 10) is a building block for adding and subtracting larger numbers. 

Cheerios have so many uses. When you're not eating them, you can use them for learning! Counting and estimating are important skills practised in this activity.

Strengthen hand, wrist and finger muscles on a daily basis with this simple tong object sorting exercise. The squeezing action helps improve general hand strength.

The key question when teaching subtraction is “how many are left?”.

Use math word problems to bring maths to life and give meaning to concepts that can otherwise be confusing. Use real life objects (manipulatives) to explore the problems in an active, hands-on and engaging way. Stuffed animals make great manipulatives for learning maths. 

Children love stickers. Take advantage of this enthusiasm and have them practise fine motor skills and counting with this easy sticker-number matching game.

Food trays with three (or more) compartments are very useful for addition! Use the separate compartments to sort objects into the numbers to be added. 

Skip counting is a crucial first step in teaching multiplication. Counting forward using numbers other than 1 will help children begin to notice number patterns. Start with 2s, 5s and 10s.

Finding fun ways of practising the shape of numbers is important for keeping kids engaged. Play dough can be a fun way to represent the shapes of numbers.

Number bonds to 10 are a very important foundation for understanding how numbers work. Practising number bonds with play dough is a fun sensory activity which brings number bonds to life. 

Play dough activities for early years maths helps to combine sensory activities, fine motor skills and number work which is a great way of bringing numbers to life.