Pre-Writers Club: Cardboard Numerals

Maths - Number (40-60+ months):

Recognise some numerals of personal significance. Recognises numerals 1 to 5.

Maths - Shape, Space & Measure (30-50 months): Shows an interest in shape and space by playing with shapes or making arrangements with objects.

(40-60+ months): Orders two or three items by length or height.

What you need:

Make three circles of card by drawing around a plate and a cup. Cut two of them so you have two thirds of the circle and cut the other one in half.

Cut 3 long straight pieces and 2 shorter pieces. Add lines to make them look like roads using a chalk pen or felt tip. This combination of shapes can be rearranged to make any of the numbers.

Leave the pieces of road out with some toy vehicles for your child to discover. Let them explore putting them together to make roads. As he played we talked about the shapes of the roads, using language such as curved and straight. We also compare the lengths of the pieces.

I rearranged two of the larger curved pieces to look like a 3 which Benji recognised. He is 3 years old so he loves the number and can recognise it because it is significant to him. He drove his bus along the number. I showed him how to start at the top to support his number formation.

I showed Benji some of the wooden numbers and we talked about what pieces we would need to use to make them e.g. curved or straight. Then we had a go at making some of the other numerals. They moved a bit as he tried to drive over them so we taped the pieces together with washi tape. We practised driving the car along them.

If your child is interested in letters, the pieces can also be rearranged to look like letters.

Recognising numerals - Learning to recognise the shapes of numbers is as important as knowing how to count out loud, and introducing these symbols early will help your child to get familiar with them.

Number Formation - You can support your child by modelling how to form the numbers using a top-to-bottom and left-to-right approach. Children often reverse numbers when they write them (see this IGTV for details about why) so practicing how to form the numbers as they learn them is really helpful.

If you have a go at this activity and share any photos on social media I would love to see them. Please tag @miniwritersclub and let me know how you get on.

Anna