P1 will be consolidating number recognition to 10 and 20 this week. Here are some great activities for you to do at home with them.
1. Number bubble game
Draw lots of chalk circles on the ground outside, with a number inside each (1 to 10 or 1 to 20, depending on how much space you have), distributing them evenly so that you end up with several 1s in circles, several 2s in circles, and so on (make sure you have enough for each child playing the game). Call out a number and each child has to find a circle (bubble) with that number and stand in it. Make it more fun by blowing bubbles over the children in between each round.
2. Number hunt
Take your child out for a walk around the neighbourhood – or perhaps combine it with a visit to the local park – hunting for numbers along the way. There should be plenty of opportunities for number spotting, for example on front doors, gates, buses, cars, posters etc. Get the children to call them out when they see them.
3. Giant dot-to-dot
Make your own giant dot-to-dot outside, by chalking numbers on the ground that the children have to connect in the right order to make a shape or picture. For younger children stick to simple shapes using fewer numbers; for older children you can make it a bit more difficult.
4. Number biscuits
Using some number shape cutters, make some sets of number biscuits with the children and then use squeezy icing to stick the right number of decorations onto each biscuit (e.g. eight raisins on the number 8, three raspberries on the number 3 etc).
5. Number crafts
There are lots of ways in which you can incorporate number recognition into craft activities. One idea is to draw some outlines of ladybirds on a piece of paper, then number them and get the children to add the right number of spots to each. A couple of variations on this include drawing birds and sticking on tail feathers, or drawing monsters and sticking on googly eyes.
6. Beanbag toss
Here are a couple of ideas for throwing games to help with number recognition. One is to get a set of buckets and label them 1 to 5 (or 1 to 10), then the children have to try and throw the right number of beanbags into each; another is to use a target mat and the children have to try and land the right number of beanbags in each numbered segment.
7. Counting beads
For this activity you’ll need ten paper plates, some coloured pens and some coloured beads. Write the numbers 1 to 10 on the plates, using a different colour for each number. Get the children to put the right number of beads onto each plate; this works particularly well using coloured beads that correspond with the colours used to write the numbers, as it gives the children a strong visual cue.
2021/22 ~ Primary 1/2 ~ Mr Macleod 