1. How heavy?

You will need: scales that can weigh things in kilograms.

♦ Ask your child to find something that weighs close to 1 kilogram.

♦ Can they find something that weighs exactly 1 kilogram?

♦ Find some things that weigh about half a kilogram.

2. Out and about

♦ During your daily exercise walks, look outside for ‘thirties’ numbers, such as 34 or 38, on house doors, number plates, bus stops, etc. How many can you spot? What is the biggest one you can find?

♦ The next day, look for ‘fifties’ numbers, or ‘sixties’, etc.

3. How much?

♦ Once a week, tip out the small change such as 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, etc. Count it up with your child. How many different ways can you make a certain amount?

4. Counting it out!

♦ Practise counting. Start at 5, and count on from there to 11. Start at 9, count back from there to zero. Choose a different starting number each time. Can your child count up in 2s, 5s and 10s and then count backwards in these steps?

5. Number Bonds

You need a 1–6 dice.

♦ Take turns. Roll the dice. See how quickly you can say the number to add to the number on the dice to make 10, e.g. 4 and 6

♦ If you are right, you score a point. The first to get 10 points wins.

6. Speedy pairs to 10

♦ Make a set of 12 cards showing the numbers 0 to 10, but with two 5s. If you wish, you could use playing cards.

♦ Shuffle the cards and give them to your child.

♦ Time how long it takes to find all the pairs to 10. Repeat later in the week. See if your child can beat their time later in the week.

7. Guess my shape

♦ Think of a 2-D shape (triangle, circle, rectangle, square,

pentagon or hexagon). Ask your child to ask questions to try and

guess what it is.

♦ You can only answer Yes or No. For example, your child could ask: Does it have 3 sides? or: Are its sides straight?

♦ See if he can guess your shape using fewer than five questions.

♦ Now ask them to choose a shape so you can ask questions.

8. Straight lines

♦ Choose 4 toys and lay them on the table in order of length. Use a ruler to measure each toy to the nearest cm. Repeat with other household items that are safe to use.

9. Circle Trios

♦ Draw four circles each on your piece of paper. Write four numbers between 3 and 18, one in each circle. For example… 12      16      8       17

♦ Take turns to roll a dice three times and add the three numbers. If the total is one of the numbers in your circles then you may cross it out. The first to cross out all four circles wins.

10. Pasta (if you can get any!) Subtraction

For this game you need a dice and some dried pasta, buttons or anything you have a lot of.

♦ Start with a pile of pasta in the middle. Count them. Throw a dice. Say how many pieces of pasta will be left if you subtract that number.

♦ Then take the pieces of pasta away and check if you were right! Keep playing and the person to take the last piece wins!

Don’t forget to play the many free maths games with are online such as these https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/5-7-years/counting and make use of your TTRockStars account if you have one. Also board games are a great way of including maths in a fun way. If your child is accessing learning online, please remind them of online safety expectations. Suggestions on how to discuss these with different aged children can be found within the ‘online safety’ section of our ‘mums, dads and carers’ website page.

Stay safe and keeeeeep counting!