4 Fun Activities to Practise Numbers With Your Child

• Tweezers
• Paper
• Pom-poms
• Coloured pens to match the pom-poms

1. Write the numbers 1 to 5 down the side of the paper and draw the matching number of circles beside each.
2. Ask your child to pick up pom-poms with the tweezers and fill the circles.
3. To make it harder, leave out the circles.
4. Ask which numbers have more pom-poms and which have fewer.

Children learn to recognise the numerals, match a quantity to each and compare more and less, while the tweezers work the pincer grip they need for pencil control.

• Cardboard circles
• Pipe cleaners
• Beads
• Marker pen

1. Write a number on each cardboard circle and make a hole at the top.
2. Thread a pipe cleaner through each hole.
3. Ask your child to thread the right number of beads onto each pipe cleaner.

Threading beads is precise work for small fingers, and counting them on as they go links the numeral to a quantity.

• Coloured paper
• A large piece of cardboard
• Sticky tape
• Wool, string or a shoelace

1. Make loops of coloured paper numbered 1 to 10.
2. Tape the loops to the cardboard in a jumbled order.
3. Ask your child to thread the string through the loops in number order.

Finding each number in turn practises number order and recognition, and guiding the string through the loops builds hand-eye coordination.

• Cardboard circles
• Marker pen
• A toy frying pan

1. Write two sets of numbers 1 to 5 on cardboard circles.
2. Ask your child to sort them into ordered piles or lay them out in order.
3. Mark a start and a finish line.
4. On go, run the pancakes to the finish in order, 1 to 5, carrying each on the pan.

Sorting and racing the numbers in order practises sequencing, and balancing the pancake on the pan adds coordination and a burst of energy, good for the garden or Pancake Day.