Pre-Writers Club: Phone Calls

Maths - Number (40-60+ months):

Recognises numerals 1 to 5.

Selects the correct numeral to represent 1 to 5.

What you need:

This activity supports both maths and phonics (see the skills section at the end of the post to find out how).

Write 0 - 9 on post it notes and arrange them to look like the key pad on a phone. Create a phone book by writing some 3 digit numbers on paper/in a notebook. Choose someone to phone and practise dialling their phone number.

At first show your child the number and see if the recognise the numerals. Can they find them on the post it note buttons? Practise dialling the number together. Benji enjoyed hittng the call button and pretending to have a coversation with the person.

As you play see if they are able to listen to the phone number and dial it without looking at the phone book. If they find it tricky to hold a sequence of 3 numbers in their head, try phone numbers with 2 digits to start with.

Auditory Memory – Children begin to read by blending VC (vowel consonant) and CVC (consonant vowel consonant) words. They need to be able to remember what they have heard, and the order that they heard them in then merge the sounds to make a word. Getting your child to try to remember a sequence of three numbers is good practise for this skill and will help to develop their auditory memory.

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

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