“Let them feel maths in their fingers before you ask them to hold it in their heads”.
All activities featured use the Maths Mastery Wooden Number Trays 1-9 and 10-20.
Build a strong sense of number through exploring, counting, identifying, sourcing and most importantly, doing it through play.
Children will enjoy collecting and counting objects in these beautifully crafted tactile Number Trays. Ideal for exploring counting, number bonds and mathematical language of more than and less than.
1. Collecting and Counting Treasures
Go on a hunt indoors for little loose parts to use, perhaps buttons. Or go outdoors to collect natural treasures such as:
- acorns
- pinecones
- conkers
- sticks
- stones
- shells
- flowers
- leaves
Make a lovely display of your collection with the corresponding number of natural treasures in each tray.
You could take a photograph of each child’s favourite collection and make your own natural number line that the children can relate to.
Talk about one more, one less.
Talk about size. Find four tiny, miniscule, minute things. Find four big, huge, massive things. Talk about the different words we might use instead of big and small.
Talk about same and different. Find four things that are the same. What makes them the same? Size, colour, pattern? Find four things that are different. What makes them different?
2. Playdough
Use playdough to make little balls and count them into each tray. Add playdough as a base to each tray space and press small loose parts such as acorns ,shells, pasta shapes or beads in to the corresponding number.
Use a mini cookie cutter to cut out the correct number of shapes for each number. Building fine motor skills in a sensory way.
3. Mark Making
Ask children to trace the indented numeral on the tray with their finger or stick. Showing children how to write and form the numbers.
Fill the tray with chai seeds, bird seed, flour, sand or rice and using their finger or a stick, ask the children to copy their numeral in the tray.
Using small loose parts fill the numeral. Use fingers (easy) or tweezers (harder). Great for fine motor skills.
4. The one more or one less game
Use your collection of loose parts – acorns, conkers, wooden pieces, felt balls,
buttons, beads, etc. Place one of the Number Trays on the table, for example number 5.
Ask the children to put five objects into the tray. Then ask them to add ‘one more’. How many have they got now? Can they find the 6 number tray? Move all the objects into the 6 number tray. Then ask them to add ‘one more’. And so, on until they get to 9.
Play it again using a different starting point. Or play it again but this time ask for ‘one less’.
5. Counting at Story or Nursery Rhyme time
Use the Number Trays in storytime. Many Classic Stories and Rhymes have numbers in them:
- Three Little Pigs
- Three Billy Goat Gruff
- Ten in a Bed
- 5 Little Ducks
Purchase the Wooden Number Trays 1-9 Here
Purchase the Wooden Maths Mastery Number Trays 10-20 Here
Lottie Makes 