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Maths at Home
How Does Numberblocks Teach Early Maths Skills?
Numberblocks is a series of short step-by-step educational videos that have been created by working closely with the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM). They use best-practice visual teaching techniques that are aligned to the EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) framework and Key Stage 1 Curriculum.
Each five-minute video teaches a different concept such as number recognition, counting, odd and even numbers, and the beginnings of addition and subtraction, grouped into five colour coded levels. Each level introduces more numbers and follow a logical sequence of topics and key skills that are essential to help children develop number sense and develop a solid foundation of mathematical understanding. Some of the episodes are mini stories whereas other are music videos or provide a straightforward explanation.
The main characters Numberblocks are made from maths unit blocks (commonly known as unifix) each representing a different numbers from 1-10 with its own personality.
How Can I Use Numberblocks at Home to Support Early Maths?
You can use Numberblocks at home to help your child practice the concepts that they watched in Numberblocks.
You can also reinforce early maths concepts through every day routine by counting different objects such as toys, food and then use vocabulary such as "one more" and "one less" to help children begin to understand the concept of subtraction.
Across the day look for opportunities everywhere for your child to spot the different numbers e.g. in shops on price labels, car number plates or at home on appliances. Turn it in to a game. You will be surprised how many numbers there are around us every day when you really start to look.
On the Numberblocks website here there are lots of activities such as building castles and even recipe ideas to make and eat the characters!
There are also free Numberblocks apps and skills available to download:
Numberblocks - Card Fun!
This app features four game modes and five packs of cards offering 60 levels of different gameplay that will help you help your child with their numeracy skills. It features Numberblocks 1 to 10.
Snap - Find a snap when you see two cards with matching values, this could be Numberblock One and one Apple or numeral six and six Numberblobs.
Match - Turn over the cards to find matching pairs of card value. The values could be anything from a mix of things to stamps.
Add it up - A series of addition equations that feature different card packs and card values. You will be adding Numberblocks, stamps, things, Numberblobs and numerals.
Take it away - A series of subtraction equations that feature different card packs and card values. Children will add Numberblocks, stamps, things, Numberblobs and numerals. When a level is completed a new one with increasing complexity will unlock.
Download Numberblocks - Card Fun! onto your device here:
1-Minute Maths by White Rose Maths
This app has been designed to be used at home or in the classroom. Each of the fun 1-minute maths tasks help young children build confidence and skill with number in bite-size and manageable chunks.
It focuses on key Maths skills such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and subitising. The range of topics can be chosen and if children are struggling, helpful hints will help them to keep trying.
Download 1-Minute Maths by White Rose Maths onto your device here:
NumBots (Year 1+)
NumBots is a highly engaging platform for learning to add and subtract.
NumBots is all about every child achieving the “triple win” of understanding, recall, and fluency in mental addition and subtraction, so that they move from counting to calculating. It uses images to help children visualise concepts featuring 60-second skills rounds and challenges.
Download NumBots onto your device here:
