When my child was 5, he struggled with gap fill sums that had a number missing. You know the kind:
15 + ___ = 20.
Filling in those gaps confused him so much, he didn’t even want to look at them! I tried a few different things to help him understand but nothing worked. Then I came at the problem from a whole different angle…..
I made number bubbles.
And suddenly it wasn’t gap fill sums that couldn’t be looked at anymore; it was playing with number bubbles and choosing which exciting blue bubble we needed next!
With these he could play around with making entire sums from scratch. Even better, these bubbles can be used for a whole lot more than just missing number sums.
I’ve made them available for you to download here and print so you and your child can benefit inshaAllah. Simply print and have an adult cut them out before using them.
Use them for:
Counting forwards and backwards
Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division up to 20
Counting in 2s and 5s
Odd and even number practice
And more!
Update 23/05/2024: A girls set of number bubbles now added.
What are your tips for helping little ones with maths? Let us know in the comments below.