Numicon: Bag of Numicon Shapes 1-10

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If you're not a big fan of Numicon, you really should be! From EYFS right through to KS1 and beyond, this multi-sensory resource is the perfect tool for developing children's early maths skills, and counting abilities and introducing them to a new way of learning. Model the language you want your child to use during this activity, such as more, less, add, fit, and same. Encourage them to use the word together (a key word in addition) to explain what they are doing. For example, ‘I am putting two and four together to make six.’

Put the smaller shape on top of the bigger shape, and encourage your child to count the difference between the two shapes (i.e. to count the holes in the bigger shape that are not covered). Numicon is an approach to teaching maths that helps your child to see connections between numbers. From Oxford University Press, it supports your child as they learn early maths skills in nursery and primary school. It is a multi-sensory way of learning, which means your child learns by seeing and feeling. This is a good activity to gently introduce the idea of adding two numbers together to make a bigger number. Have a go at making number towers like this:

Engage children with digital learning

Has been proven to have a positive impact on children’s enjoyment as well as giving them the confidence to demonstrate how and why they arrived at their answer

You can build on this by taking away larger numbers (for example, holding your finger over two holes) when your child is confident with the process of taking away 1.

Teaching about the latest events?

Ask your child to find the shape that matches the pattern that is left. For example, if the original shape had a value of 6 and you held your finger over a hole, your child would need to find a shape with a value of 5.