For young children, practise is key to keeping their emerging understanding of how numbers work at their fingertips.

In this post, I have pulled together my top 5 games, collected from a variety of people and places, and tried and tested on my own children!ÌýIf played regularly over time, they will help your child get to know their number facts.

1. Count all and Count on

These games can help your child practise counting up to 12.

For Count all, you will need two dice with spots. If you don’t have any, you can adapt a numbered dice by putting stickers over the numbers and drawing dots from 1–6.ÌýTake it in turns to roll the dice and count the spots to find the total.ÌýThis will help your child to recognise patterns and to accurately count items that cannot be moved.

Once your child is familiar with this, you can try Count on.ÌýYou will need to use two dice: one dotty die, and one die with numbers.ÌýTake it in turns to roll both dice. ÌýStart with the numbered dice, then count on the number of spots shown. This will help your child connect the number symbols with the quantity they represent.

For more help with counting, why not try this simple Numicon activity:

2. Bunny Rabbit Ears

This game will help your child learn the number bonds within 10.ÌýIt is ideal for two or more players (my twins used to love playing this in the car!).

The first player says, ‘Bunny rabbit ears…’ and then a number between 1 and 10.ÌýBoth players then make that number using their fingers as quickly as possible and put them on their head – like ears – to show the other players.ÌýFor example, ‘Bunny rabbit ears five’ could result in the combinations 0 + 5, 1 + 4, 2 + 3, or the reverse.

As children get used to playing, encourage them to play without looking, keeping their hands in position. This encourages them to visualise and develop mental calculation skills.

3. Memory for 10!

This is a game for two or more players, and it practises adding within 10.

You will need these playing cards: one Ace (to use as a 1), one of each number card 2–9, and two 5s.ÌýShuffle the cards and place them face down on a table in two rows.ÌýThe first player turns over a card and says what number is needed to make a total of 10, before turning over another card.

If the total makes 10, they keep the cards. If the cards do not total 10, turn both cards back over and the second player has a turn.ÌýContinue playing until all the pairs to 10 are found.ÌýThe winner is the player with the most cards when they have all been picked up.

4. What’s in the bag?

This simple game for two or more children practises adding and subtracting within 10. You can extend the range up to 20 if your child is good at it!

Put 10 of the same item (for example, building bricks, stones, or small figurines) in a bag or under a piece of cloth.ÌýOne player takes out some items and puts them on the table for the other player to see. They then have to work out how many items are still in the bag.

Put some of the items back in the bag. Say how many are in the bag now.ÌýTake it in turns to take items out of the bag, with the other player saying how many are left.

5. Place Value Uno

Play this game with Uno cards (or normal playing cards with the face cards removed).

Each player has 2 or 3 piles, depending on if you are working on 10s or 100s. They must turn over the top card from each pile.ÌýThe players must all say the resulting numbers out loud. For example, for a 6 and a 3, the player would say ‘sixty three’.

The player with the highest number wins the cards.ÌýFor a fun variation, allow players to use the cards they turn over to create the highest possible number.

More from Oxford Owl

• Web page: Fun maths games and activities
• Web page: Numicon guide for parents
• Blog: Five ways to improve maths home learning
• Blog: Times tables: Practise makes perfect
• PDF:

Shapes are all around us and there are many ways you can start exploring them with your child. Learning to recognise shapes will help familiarise your child with different shapes in all sorts of contexts.

There are lots of fun and easy ways to get your child recognising and naming shapes, to give them a great start developing early numeracy skills. Here are some activities you can try at home and when you’re out and about.

1. Shapes on the dinner plate

Give your child different shaped food and ask them to name the shapes. Try slices of watermelon or pizza for triangles, sandwiches or crackers for squares, and apples or peas for circles. You can use the food to introduce informal mathematical language by asking your child to count how many sides or corners each food item has, or if the shape has straight or round sides.

2. Go on a shape hunt

Hunt for shapes around the house: ask your child to find circles (e.g. clock, plughole, plate), rectangles (e.g. TV, books), squares (e.g. windows, cupboards), and more. How many different shapes can they find in one room? Can they find small shapes and big shapes?

3. Spot the shape when out and about

What different shapes can your child spot when you’re out and about? Think about different shape road signs (circles, triangles, rectangles, and the octagon ‘stop’ sign); circular wheels on cars and bikes; square pavement slabs. Which shape is most common?

4. Shape of the day

Ask your child to choose a shape and then see how many times during the day you can spot it together. This can be around the house, when you’re outside, or even in books or on the TV.

5. Match the shapes

Cut out shapes from pieces of paper and lay out randomly on the table. Ask your child to match up all the circles, triangles, squares etc., naming the shapes as they go. Try using shapes of different sizes and colours. If your child feels confident, use a timer to see how fast they can match up all the shapes!

6. Trace the shape

Pick a shape and ask your child to trace its shape on a plate of flour, in sand, with a stick through soil, or on a pavement with a paintbrush and water.

7. Make pictures with shapes

Cut out different sized shapes from pieces of paper and see what pictures your child can make with the same shape, e.g. boats and butterflies from triangles and towers from squares. Now introduce another shape and see what picture your child can make by putting them together (e.g. a house from a square and a triangle).

8. Read stories featuring shapes

Help build your child’s confidence in recognising shapes during storytime. There are lots of fantastic picture books introducing shapes and patterns, which children will want to pick up again and again. We’ve highlighted two of our favourites from 51ºÚÁÏÍø below.

More from Oxford Owl

• Developing maths skills age 3-4
• 6 fun ways to encourage counting
• Early maths skills

Books to support learning at home

It can be hard making the jump from counting and ordering numbers to actuallyÌýcalculating with them. In my third and final post, I will outline how to use Numicon to practically introduce the crucial concepts of addition and subtraction to your child.

These activities are for children who know the Numicon shapes by number without needing to count the holes. If your child isn’t quite there yet, you could try these ordering and counting activitiesÌý¾±²Ô²õ³Ù±ð²¹»å.

My three year old is not ready for this stage yet, so her big sister (age 6) had a go with me. Here are some of the activities we tried out that were most successful. These activities use resources from theÌý, but if you don’t own the kit you can still follow along with theseÌýfreeÌý.

1. Number towers

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:

1. Ask your child to choose a shape to put on the NumiconÌý. They should fill the holes of the shape with pegs so that it locks into place.
2. Choose Numicon shapes to fit on top to make the same shape. See if your child can find different combinations of pieces to make the same shape stacking them on top of the previous combinations.
3. 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.’

This activity helps your child see that numbers can be made up of multiple smaller numbers, and will give them a go at adding different numbers together to get a total.

2. Number bonds

Following on from this activity, we explored number bonds to 10. We did this by choosing pairs of Numicon shapes to add together to make a total of 10:

1. Set out a shape that takes up 10 pegs.
2. Model for your child how you choose two shapes that fit together to make 10.
3. Encourage your child to continue choosing pairs of shapes to make the ten shape.
4. Remember to use the mathematical language –Ìýtogether, and, add, makes, equals, the same, and so on.

3. Introducing subtraction

My first activity to introduce subtraction involved using a ‘feely bag’ (an big bag that you can’t see through).ÌýAs with addition, it helps if your child is already familiar with Numicon shapes when you introduce the idea of subtraction because otherwise the activity might seem a bit confusing.

1. Put lots of Numicon shapes into the feely bag
2. Ask your child to take out two shapes at random.
3. 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).
4. Your child can check their counting by choosing the correct Numicon shape to cover all the remaining holes.
5. Encourage your child to explain what is happening using mathematical language – the difference between, smaller than, leaves, equals, and so on.

At this early stage, we focus on the difference between shapes in order to subtract. This concept is nice and easy to visualise so is great for younger learners.

4. Taking away

The other way to explore subtraction with Numicon is byÌýtaking away part of a shape. For example, you could:

1. Choose a shape and pretend to take away 1 from its value by covering the hole with your finger.
2. 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.
3. Try taking away 1 from every Numicon shape.
4. 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.

5. Reading and listening to songs

On top of these quite formal activities, you can also teach your child about adding and taking away through conversation, books, play, and songs. My little girl loves singing along to the songs in the Numicon At 51ºÚÁÏÍø kit and holding up her fingers to count along! We have tried to make these songs part of her bedtime routine to help her get used to counting.

When reading a book or listening to a song, try these tips to practise early maths skills:

• Talk about the pictures – explore shapes, patterns, size, colours.
• Count the number ofÌý a certain type of object on the page.
• Listen out for numbers and then count forwards/backwards from that number.
• Use the Numicon number line as you count, or count using your fingers.
• Try to use mathematical language as much as possible.

Giving your child a chance to practise addition and subtraction using Numicon, as well as incorporating maths into their daily routine through books and songs, will give their early maths skills a real boost. Keep it up and they will be moving on to trickier maths concepts in no time!Ìý

Numicon kits for parents

More from Oxford Owl

• Numicon guide for parents
• Blog:Ìý
• Blog:Ìý

Understanding times tables is key to improving maths skills at primary school.

Mastering the times tables (or ‘multiplication tables’) up to 12 can be tricky, but getting to know them inside out is very worthwhile. A good knowledge of times tables will give your child a strong foundation for later maths development, improving their mental maths and boosting their confidence.

Luckily, there are lots of active and fun ways we can support our children. Here are some activities that I have found useful in helping my two primary-aged children learn times tables facts.

1. Ice cube and egg box arrays

AnÌýÌýis a group of shapes or objects arranged in rows and columns. Arrays are great for helping to visualise times tables and can be used for fun activities.Ìý You can use objects from around the house like egg boxes, ice cube trays, muffin tins, together with items like buttons or counters to help explore arrays.

For example, an egg box for a dozen eggs can be used to explore these facts:

• 2 × 6 = 12
• 6 × 2 = 12
• 12 ÷ 6 = 2
• 12 ÷ 2 = 6

Try asking questions like, ‘How many 2s are there in 12?’ or ‘How many groups of 6 can we make if we have 12 eggs?’. You could also useÌýarrays by:

• placing small items (such as raisins or pasta shapes) into even-numbered
• building arrays on paper with bingo dabbers
• finger painting or using corks dipped in paint.

2. Coin counting

Sanitise some 1p, 2p, 5p, and 10p coins (no more than 12 of each) and ask your child to separate them into piles.

Take it in turns to pick up a small number of the same coin. Estimate how much money you think you have and then count in groups to find the answer.ÌýHow close were you?

3. Playing card products

A bit of healthy competition between siblings or friends can be a great motivator for learning some of the trickier times tables! This game is most suitable for children aged 7–11, but can be adapted for younger children.

1. Take a pack of cards and remove the Kings and Jokers. In this game, Aces = 1, Jacks = 11, and Queens = 12.
2. Deal 6 cards to each player.
3. Each player places 1 card down at the same time, and then both players must multiply the cards together.
4. The winner of the hand is the player who says the correct product first (the ‘product’ is the name we give to the result when two numbers are multiplied together). The winner picks up the played cards.
5. When a player runs out of cards, they pick up 2 more from the spare pile.
6. The winner is the one with the most cards when the spare pile is empty.

If you want to adapt the game for children aged 5–7, take one of the 2s, 5s, or 10s and place it face up in the middle of the table. This is the times table you are practising.

Each player should work out the product of the card they put down and the card in the middle of the table, with the winner of each hand the player who gets their answer first.

4. Recipe scaling

To show older children how times tables help in a real-life context, look at recipes and scale up or down the quantities for more or fewer people.ÌýFor example:

A recipe makes 4 portions. Ask your child to work out what quantities would be needed for 2 people, or 8 people, or 20 people. They will need to multiply each quantity in the recipe by the same amount.

5. Multiplication bingo

Each player makes a 3 × 3 grid by drawing squares on a piece of paper. Within each of the 9 squares, each player writes answers from whichever times table you are focusing on in a random order. For example, if looking at the 8 times tables, each player would choose 9 answers from: 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48, 56, 64, 72, 80, 88, 96.

The caller thinks of a random calculation from the times table – for example, 7 × 8.ÌýIf the answer is on the player’s card, they cross it out.ÌýThe winner is the first person to cross out all their answers and shout ‘Bingo!’

There are lots of other games to explore which help with the learning of times tables, so remember to always keep an eye out for new ideas. Opportunities to practise maths skills are everywhere!

More from Oxford Owl

• Web page: Help with times tables
• Web page: The Year 4 multiplication tables check
• Blog: Times tables tips
• PDF:
• PDF:

As an Early Years teacher with twenty years of experience (and mum to two young girls), I am a huge fan of Numicon.

The multi-sensory shapes are my go-to for introducing maths to preschoolers. In this blog post, I talk about what Numicon is, how it works, and a couple of my favourite activities to get the most out of this versatile resource.

What is Numicon?

Numicon is a system of flat, plastic shapes with holes. Each shape represents a number from 1–10 and each number has its own colour. The pattern of holes is arranged in pairs, which makes it easier for children to make connections between numbers (for instance, seeing that each number is ‘one more’ than the last).

The aim of Numicon is to make numbers real for children. It is an effective, multi-sensory resource because it helps children to physically see and feel the value of numbers, and see the relationships between numbers.

You can find out more about Numicon on the Numicon guide for parentsÌýpage.

Using Numicon at home

Everything you will need to get your child started with Numicon is included in the , which provides a step-by-step guide to learning about numbers in a fun and interactive way.

The kit is geared towards pre-school children aged 3–5, and my three-year-old absolutely loves it. As well as Numicon shapes, pegs, and other equipment, the kit includes a booklet with a variety of clearly illustrated activities, and explanations of the maths concepts that your child is exploring through their play. For each activity, you are provided with a list of the mathematical language that you can use around your child.

If you don’t have the kit at home, don’t worry – you can download free Ìýto follow along with your own version of these activities.

1. Visualising numbers

Try using a ‘feely bag’ to help your child build up a mental image of the numbers one to ten. For example:

1. Have your child close their eyes.
2. Put one Numicon shape in an opaque bag.
3. See if your child can tell your what number it is just by feeling it.

When your child has to ‘feel’ for a number, they have to visualise the Numicon patterns, which helps them to develop their own mental image of numbers.

This proved challenging for my little girl when we initially used the bag. She insisted on emptying the Numicon tiles over the table so she could see all the pieces! We spent a lot of time talking about the colours, shapes, and sizes of the different tiles, comparing them to each other. I modelled the appropriate language (such as find,Ìýmatch, feel, the same as, and the names of the colours) so that she had the mental tools to think about and describe what she was feeling.

She is now a pro at identifying pieces in the feely bag and enjoys using it. She can tell me if a piece is big or small, has a chimney or not (odd/even numbers), and also puts her fingers in the holes to count before pulling the pieces out of the bag. Using the feely bag has helped her to develop a mental picture of the Numicon shapes, which is an important step in developing mental imagery of numbers.

2. Making patterns

This activity makes use of the 52 pegs in the At 51ºÚÁÏÍø kit. They can be used for a variety of pattern-making activities. For instance, the is designed to hold both Numicon shapes and pegs. It can therefore be used with the picture overlays to make matching puzzles.

My little girl loves to use the pegs on the baseboard.ÌýInitially, I let her explore and play with the pegs freely and she filled the baseboard with pegs in random order. However, she was keen to copy meÌýwhen I began modelling how to make a pattern.ÌýI only used two colours to keep it simple and she very quickly wanted to make her own patterns (‘I do it myself Mummy!’). She loved making necklaces with her pegs. To begin with, it is a good idea to limit the choices of colour and then build up more when your child becomes more confident.

The coloured pegs fit into the Numicon pieces, so there are lots of opportunities for learning using these resources together. For example, you could try:

• Matching peg patterns to Numicon shapes.
• Making number towers.
• Copying patterns.
• Using the feely bag to make Numicon shapes with pegs from memory.

In my next post, I will be sharing how Numicon can help you explore sequencing, ordering, number names, and counting with your child.

Numicon kits for parents

More from Oxford Owl

• Numicon guide for parents
• Blog:Ìý
• Blog:Ìý

We all want to teach our kids that money isn’t everything, but there’s no doubt that being ‘good with money’ will make their future lives a whole lot easier.

Handling coins and calculating with money in real-life situations outside the classroom can really help children see how important it is in daily life… and talking about money is the first step to great skills!

Read on to find out what your child will learn about money at school, and discover our top tips and activities to support their learning at home.

Please note: This advice was written before the lockdowns caused by coronavirus. Please take into account local government guidance on social distancing when trying these activities.

What do children learn at school?

In Reception, your child will use everyday language to talk about money.

During Years 1 and 2, your child will learn the different coins and notes, the symbols for pounds (£) and pence (p), and how to combine coins to make given amounts. They will solve money problems practically, adding and subtracting to give change.

In Years 3 to 6, your child will progress from making change by adding/subtracting pounds and pence separately to recording money using decimals (for example, ‘£1.52’ instead of ‘£1 and 52p’). This ‘£.p’ format is usually introduced in Year 4. Your childÌý will also solve money problems, including multiplying/dividing decimal amounts of money by whole numbers.

Activities to try at home

Here are some ideas for fun, practical activities to help develop your child’s understanding of money and boost their confidence using money in real life.

1. Set up shop

Playing shops at home is a wonderful way of introducing children to the idea of using money through creative play.

Together, decide what to sell – raid kitchen cupboards, toy boxes, or wardrobes to create different types of shop – and price up all the items with sticky notes. For younger children, set prices with penny amounts or whole pounds using numbers they can cope with. Use real or toy coins (or make coin rubbings with paper and crayons to create your own) and take turns to be shopper and shopkeeper.

Have younger children start by just buying one item and counting out the right coins to pay for it. Encourage older children to choose several items and work out totals and change.

Top Tip 1: More online shopping and contactless card or phone payments mean children often don’t see cash being used. Playing with real money can help them recognise different coins and their values.

2. Be super shoppers

How do you turn a supermarket shop with kids from frazzling to fun-filled? Playing money games that challenge them to be super shoppers might help!

Start by asking younger children to spot and read different prices. (Printing labels when weighing out fruit and veg is a great of providing non-round-number amounts.) As they learn to add amounts, ask your child to find, say, three items that total £5.

Encourage older children to calculate with money by finding the total of your shopping as you add new items to your basket/trolley. In larger supermarkets, handheld scanners offer a fun way to check, but a calculator on your phone works just as well for keeping track on the go. Or you could just challenge your child to see if their total matches the final amount at the checkout!

Top Tip 2: Decimal points in money amounts can be confusing, especially for younger children. Explain that the decimal point separates the pounds and pence, so £2.99 can be read as ‘Two pounds and ninety-nine pence’.

3. Manage a budget

‘Can I have an ice-cream? Will you buy me a new doll/car/dinosaur/hot-air balloon? Can we go to Disneyland, pleeeeease?!’

Even after children have learnt to calculate using money, they often have little sense of affordability! Involving your child in planning family celebrations, days out, or holidays (real or imaginary) can help them to understand the cost of items and activities. It might even encourage them to save for something they want!

Set a budget and research prices together. How much will it cost to get there? Is there a choice of ticket prices? What will lunch/drinks/snacks cost? How shall we divide the budget between party food, decorations, and presents? Don’t forget to talk about the difference between what they need and what they want!

Top Tip 3: When calculating with money, it can be helpful to convert amounts into pence first, before changing back to pounds and pence after the calculation. This helps your child keep track of where the decimal point should go. For example, to add £4.50 + £2.73, you could change the sum to 450p + 273p = 723p, which can then be turned into £7.23.

I hope these ideas have given you some inspiration for exploring money in a memorable way! Have fun!

More useful links

• :Ìýa national activity week in June for primary and secondary schools that provides young people the opportunity to gain skills, knowledge, and confidence in money matters.
• : resources for anyone teaching young people money management skills.
• :Ìýfun activities, games, and videos to help your child ‘get money savvy’.