
I love using manipulatives (concrete objects) in maths. I think they are the best way for children to get to grips with mathematical concepts. Maria Montessori said, "What the hand does, the mind remembers," and I can't think of a better way to sum it up. As a child, I really struggled as Maths got more and more complex. When I started teacher training, I dreaded teaching Maths because I didn't know how I was going convey the information. Once I started using manipulatives it all fell into place. I could see the maths in front of me. Suddenly, exchanging numbers when adding and subtracting made sense. The ideas in my post today are three quick ideas that you can do with Maths Cubes for children learning Early Maths skills. Give them a go and see what you think!
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Making patterns
Spotting patterns is at the very core of maths and so developing this skill is important. Start a pattern using the cubes and see if your child can carry on the pattern. You can start with simple AB patterns (e.g. red, blue, red, blue) and work up to more complex ABB patterns (e.g. pink, green, green, pink, green, green).
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Sorting and grouping
Although this may seem simple, sorting and grouping activities offer so many opportunities for mathematical talk, such as counting in order, discussing how big quantities can be broken into smaller ones and comparing group sizes. Depending on the stage of your child, you can choose a small amount of cubes with only a few colours to start with and increase the amount of colours over time. I like adding a pair of tongs for and extra challenge and fine motor practice!
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Measuring and comparing
Measuring does not always have to be done with a ruler, particularly for children who are early on in their Maths learning. Select objects around the home and build towers as tall or wide as the objects. Then, talk about these towers. In the picture above, the card box is 4 cubes tall but the book is 10 cubes tall. This gives the perfect opportunity to compare ("The cards are shorter than the book", "The book is taller than the cards"). If you have enough cubes, you may even be able to build a tower as tall as your child!
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I hope these ideas give you some inspiration on how to introduce Maths activities around the home. Do let me know if you had a go or have other ideas on how to use Maths Cubes!
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