Number Sense is when a person has a sense of what numbers mean, understands their relationship to one another, can perform mental arithmetic and can use numbers in real situations.

At Glenwood we play games that help us to develop our number sense. All of these ideas can be adapted to suit the stage of individual children – make the numbers and quantities smaller or larger to give the appropriate amount of challenge.

We like to add an element of competition to add to the fun and will play several games in a row for a short time each.

Saying Number Sequences – Forwards and backwards: this can be as simple as counting together as you climb up the stairs, kick a football or count down to begin a race. Try saying alternate numbers as you count, or clapping for each number.

Recognising and sequencing numerals:

Counting Visible Items:

Spatial Patterns: These are the dot patterns that are on dice or dominoes – we learn to recognise the pattern and can say how many spots there are without counting them.

Subitising: Our brains are very clever – they can tell us ‘how many’ items are in a small group without us counting!

You could try using more than one colour and asking how many of each colour.

We hope you will try out some of these games with your family… have fun and let us know which you enjoyed most.

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