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Look I'm A Maths Wizard (2019)
Look I'm A Maths Wizard (2019)
3
and learn with all their senses. Together, you can grow their love of maths,
their creative problem-solving, and their understanding of the world.
The lightbulb speech bubbles at the start of the activities suggest a learning
objective for each game, but these should not limit your child’s play. Involve
your child in the preparation of each activity, let them follow the instructions,
but also let them try out their own ideas and explore in ways that they find
interesting. You never know what they might discover!
•
Your child should be supervised when experimenting with these activities, but try
to give them time and space to lead the direction of play. The questions in this
book are suggestions. Let your child ask, and answer, their own questions.
•
Adult Alert stars show where your child will need extra grown-up help.
•
Adul t
Protect the area where your child will be playing and encourage E RT !
AL
them to wear old clothes. Be especially careful when using food
colouring, which can mark fabrics and temporarily stain skin.
Being prepared lets your child enjoy themselves to their fullest.
Making a mess is part of the fun and learning!
Curious questions
Maths is full of puzzles to solve, things
to work out, and brain teasers. Here are
some questions to ask yourself as you play.
4
Your Brain
Your brain is not one of
senses
tries to understand it.
Hearing
Your ears can listen
to noisy patterns.
Sight
Mathematicians
Sounds can also be look at things
measured with maths. carefully to see
how they work.
Smell Taste
Use your nose
Your tongue is
to find smelly
great at tasting.
maths clues!
You need maths
to cook and follow
yummy recipes.
5
Maths
treasure hunt
Maths is all around you! Ask your grown-up to take
you on a nature walk to gather maths treasures.
su r r
es
?
6
What’s maths? pes can yo
h a
ts
Maths is all about
numbers, shapes,
us
a
measurements, and
Wh
e e?
patterns. These things
help us understand
our world. You can
use maths as a tool Pebb
to solve problems le s
and create solutions. one
Pinec Which of your
treasures feels
the lightest
and which is
Feel and count the heaviest?
the lines on
your leaf.
Feath
er
Which treasures
do you have most
and fewest of ?
Leaf
Shells
What colours can
you spot on your
nature walk?
7
Sorting sizes
From the tiniest pebble you picked up, to the heaviest
rock, and the longest feather, sort your nature
treasures from the smallest to the biggest.
Small
stones on
this side. 2
Big stones
on this side. Add a
decid
smalle
nothe
or in th
Keep
r pebb
ing if it
st, big
e mid
going
is the
gest,
dle.
le,
Biggest
Smallest
8
How else can
you sort your
nature objects?
Magic maths
What other words can
you think of to describe
the size of things?
Can you sort the stones
in size order with your
eyes closed?
Can you think of the
difference between tall
things and long things?
9
Clever counting
Numbers are super useful to know. Learn your numbers
to 10 and beyond with these awesome mini games.
You’ll soon be counting everything around you!
g!
These games teach
B oin
you how to count objects
one by one and the order
of numbers from 1 to 10.
10
8 9
6 Frog hopscotch
7 Cut big leaf shapes out of green
card and number them. Stick
4
them to the floor with sticky tack
5
to make sure you don’t slip over.
Hop from pad to pad like a little
frog, counting as you go.
2 3 Yo
Adult
A L E RT !
1
t ea a count eyond 10, ging
Cou ou hop like
n ing ba o
ck war r by
g.
ds.
y o
f r
Star
lit t le You can add
t here bubble wrap to
the pads to make
them squishy.
Your toys all wait Count each
to cross on the same toy as you
side of the river. help it cross.
Cross t h
Make
e r iver
a pap
little to er rive
ys and r. Colle
place ct
on one them a
side of ll
each t the riv
oy as y er. Co
ou help u n t
cross t them
he rive
How m r one b
any to y one.
ys are
crossin
g?
Number fingers
Your fingers and thumbs are Adult Make the numbers with
A L E RT !
great tools to count to 10! sticky labels or cut them out
Make these special gloves by of felt and glue them on.
sticking numbers on the fingers.
old gloves
11
Number bugs
Number bugs teach Make these cute number bugs
you to match a
quantity with its to practise your counting skills
written number. and to start writing numbers.
1 Choos tur n
Pain
ye
t
ll o
t
w
h
e 10
s to
pebble er bugs.
into nu
mb
e
a
pebble
nd red
.
s
marker pen
2
big leaves
Once the p
add details
aint is dry,
marker pen with a
. Give eac
bug betwe h
en 1 and 1
spots or bla 0
ck stripes.
Buzz
!
number
Play the
bugs game by matching
each bug to its leaf.
Magic maths
How did your pebbles feel
before you painted them?
Why do you think real
bees and ladybirds have
spots and stripes?
Can you practise writing
your numbers in the air
with a finger?
14
1 Cover your box with
glue and stick on
kitchen foil.
e a sq uare
m
a ke ut h f lap.
M mo
2 Carefu
lly
a flap cut out
box to in your
m
robot’ ake the
s mou
th.
I’m hungry!
Is my dinner
Adult coming soon?
Cut it!
A L E RT !
15
Cut two holes
in the top of the
box for the tubes.
Magic maths
When do you add
things together in
your everyday life?
Can you feel and count
how many pom-poms
the robot is eating?
Try swapping the tubes
around. What do you
notice happens to the
numbers of pom-poms?
16
Time for
dinner! My nose is the
adding sign. It’s
called a plus sign.
How many
are there
altogether?
Amazing adding
Adding means counting
two or more groups of
things altogether. You can
write this as a number
sentence. The plus
sign + means add
and the equals sign = plus equals altogether
2 +3 = 5
means altogether. sign sign
17
C a r n i v a l c a ns
It’s carnival time! How many
cans will you knock down, and
how many will be left?
Learn how
subtraction
(taking away)
works and how
to write it as a
number sentence.
18
You will need:
be careful
with the
sharp edges.
Adult
2
A L E RT !
To make the b
all, pour
a small pile of
rice onto
a square of clin
gfilm.
Bring the edge
s together
and twist the to
p of
the clingfilm to
keep
the rice inside.
19
3 Carefu
two ba
ll
the tai y cut
l off th
lloons.
e
20
Super
Ti m e t o subtracting
Subtracting means
play!
taking away. You can
write how many cans
you knocked down
and how many are
left standing as a
number sentence.
The subtract sign –
means take away.
10 - 4 = 6
This is the number
you started with.
This is how many
you took away.
This is the number
left standing. 21
Magic pat ter n
wands
Make this tasty magic
wand to practise Every maths wizard needs a magic
repeating patterns.
maths wand! Make this tasty one
with a repeating fruit pattern.
Magic maths
strawberries star-shaped cutter What patterns can you spot
around you? Are there
patterns on your clothes?
How does your magic
fruit wand taste?
Can you clap your hands
green and purple grapes skewers
and click your fingers to
make a sound pattern?
ep ea t in g p a t t e r ns
R s
t of thing
These are a se
rs, objects,
such as colou
t are put in
or shapes tha
e a pattern
an order. Mak
me order
by using the sa
ain.
again and ag
Cut a strawberry
22 into a star shape.
T he magic pat tern
Adult
A L E RT !
1 Carefully chop the strawberries into small bits.
Slide one piece onto the end of a skewer.
s
ter n gopele,
Making patterns T h i s p a t
en, pur
red, greeen, pur ple...
This wand pattern goes red, red, g r
green, purple, red, green, purple...
Only the star breaks the pattern.
You can make up your own pattern
now. Use two different fruits for
a simple pattern, or more
for a challenge.
23
Shapes
Let’s go fishing! These weird
stick or fish are shapes. Reel them
pencil
in to see what makes
Learn to recognize each one different.
shapes and find out what
makes each one special.
string
Go shape
Make a
fi shing
fuzzy pipe fis
bunch o hing rod and a
cleaner hook f differe
with fuz nt shap
zy pipe es
Place th cleaner
e shape s.
and sta s in a bo
rt fishing wl
!
fuzzy pipe
cleaner shapes
bowl
24
Get to know your shapes
2D shapes Feel and count the
fuzzy sides and corners
of your shapes.
4 pointy corners
completely round
4 pointy corners
3 sides
Circle
3 pointy
corners
Triangle
0 pointy corners
25
Make these 2D shapes
if you want a challenge!
half a circle squashed
circle
Semi-circle
Oval
5 sides
0 pointy
corners
Pentagon 5 pointy
corners
6 pointy
corners
Hexagon
8 pointy
corners
6 sides
Octagon 8 sides
Not all shapes have a
name. Most shapes have
wobbly, wiggly lines.
26
3D shapes Pyra
m id
These are 3D shapes.
3D shapes are not flat
like 2D shapes. They
are real, solid objects.
Cone
Cyli
Cube Sphere nder
cone dice
cube ball
pyramid
cheese grater 27
Make shape alie
ns
Make a 3D shape alien for the
Learn to recognize
and name 3D shapes planet Mathzonian. Will your
with this paper craft.
alien be long, round, or pointy?
scissors pencil
paper or card
glue stick googly eyes
1 To make a cone
alien, copy this
shape onto your
paper or card.
Carefully cut it out.
The flat shape is
called a net.
Adult
A L E RT !
2 Fold and g
the net tog
to make a
lue
ether
cone.
28
Magic maths
c k on es.
i
St gly ey Can you feel and count
goo
the shapes’ sides or points?
What describing words
can you think of to talk
about shapes?
3
Go on a shape hunt.
What 3D shapes can
you see around you?
te with
Decora o
hapes t
paper s alien’s
e y o u r
mak
d ar ms.
face an
Draw me a
funny face!
Make alien
friends!
Try making different 3D
shapes so your alien
has friends.
I’m a
cube alien.
I’m a pointy
pyramid.
Measure Do you know how tall you are?
me
Measure your height by
comparing it to other objects,
like toys or shoes.
Learn to measure height
and length using objects
as a comparison. Make sure the
1
chalk can wash
off your floor!
2 Ask a friend to
draw a chalk line
on the floor at
the top of your
head and the tip
of your feet.
3 Line up the
shoes heel to
toe (without
gaps) between
both lines.
y o u r fr ie n d s or your
Measure y o ur heights.
c o m p a r e
family to e s to measure
a m e s h o
Use the s w a y it ’s fair!
n e . T h a t
everyo
31
Ra i n b o w
bottles
Learn to measure Make this super colourful rice and
how much can fit
inside something by
fill jars and bottles with a rainbow,
counting how many one spoonful at a time.
spoonfuls fill it up.
1 Collect as many
jars and bottles
of different
shapes and sizes
as you can.
32
2 To make rain
put some ric
of vinegar, a
bow rice,
e, a splash
nd a few
drops of foo
d colouring
Vinegar coats into a pot.
the rice so that
the food
colouring
S h ak
doesn’t rub off.
e!
Sh a
k e!
3 Pu
p
t
o
t
t
h
a
e
n
li
d
d on your
shake it
4
n t il t h e colour is
u d in.
all mixe
Repeat with as
many colours
as you like.
33
5 Pour all your colours
into a play tub or dish.
Grab a spoon and fill
each jar or bottle with
pretty rainbow rice.
Count each spoonful.
Which container
holds the most rice?
Which holds the least?
34
Sha k e i t !
Magic maths Shake the bottle
How does your rainbow as you fill it to
rice smell? Do you like it?
hear how the
How does the sound
change as you fill and
sound changes.
shake the bottle?
Why would it be useful
to know how much can
fit in a bottle?
35
r a v i t y s c ales
G Learn to compare the These super simple,
weight of your toys with
these homemade scales. homemade scales use
gravity to show you the
weight of your toys.
Gravity
and weight When the scales are empty, they
Gravity is a force that are balanced because the pull of
pulls everything on gravity is the same on each side.
Earth towards the
ground. Heavy things
are pulled down more
strongly by gravity,
which is how these
scales work.
T he
woo
hea d
v ie en toy
cud r tha s are
dly n th string
bun e
ny.
toys to weigh
Get crafty to
learn how time
is measured.
2 circles, one
2 arrows, one larger than
longer than the other
the other
1 long,
38 rectangular
strap
2 Stick t
he two
middle make
in the
c i rc l e s f t h e
o
o
strap t h face.
the wa
tc
3 Ask a grown
make a little
through the
-up to
ho
the watch fa le in
ce and
ends of both
arrows. Poke
the spilt pin
the ig through the
4
ec k b holes and
Ch s are r the open it at th
e back.
e
hol ugh fo spin.
eno nds to
ha
Add 12 dots
around the
watch face. w a p the
u c o uld s bers.
Yo r num
f o
dots
e v e nly
t he dots .
e
Space the circl
d
aroun
39
5 Decorate
your strap
as you like.
Magic maths
How
deco will you
What words can you
r think of that are to
watc ate your do with time?
h stra
p? Can you hear the seconds
6
ticking on a real clock?
Your wacky watch
Do you think measuring
won’t tell you the time is useful? Why
time, but it can or why not?
help you practise.
Put your watch on
by closing the
strap with tape.
11 12 1 11 12 1
10 2 10 2
9 3 9 3
ock!
8 4 8 4
o’cl
7 6 5 7 6 5
s8
It’
The big hand points to the minutes. Can you read the
When the big hand points up, that time on this watch?
means it’s o’clock.
1 Preheat the
oven to 220°C
(425°F/Gas 7).
2
42
Spread a thin
layer of tomato
sauce onto
each tortilla.
3 over t
le
Sprink all
rella
mozza pizza.
he
4
Adult
A L E RT !
e y o ur pi z
a r za
h
s
S
If you share
1 pizza between
2 people, they
each get 1 half.
43
Make sure your slices of
pizza are all as equal as
possible, so that everybody
gets the same.
If you share
1 pizza between 3
people, they each
get 1 third.
Add a leaf of
fresh basil to
Magic maths
How do your ingredients
smell? Do you like it?
How does your pizza
taste as you eat it?
Why is it important
to share things equally
in maths?
Share
the side
12 tomatoes
tomatoes
Divide (share) the cherry tomatoes between your friends too.
Make sure everybody gets the same number so that it’s fair.
m b e rs . Keep counting
Nu umb
ers
fn how
until you’ve run
i s full o and out of numbers!
r l d r s
w o b e unt
The i n g num can co Endless numbers
arn you ou.
By le t h em, u nd y is called infinity.
s e ro
to u ng a
v e rythi
e
y o u r b r ain
Exercise oth log
ic,
u use b
it h m aths, yo akes se
nse,
W h a t m
out w you Everyone uses maths
to figure d e c id e how
to t
ativity, workou every single day, even if
and cre u t . T h is brain
ork it o lso fun. they don’t think about it!
could w c k y , b ut it’s a
tri
can be
Keep making
maths magic! 47
Index
A, B, C G, H, I, J, K, L Q, R, S
Add 14–15, 16–17 Gloves 11 Rainbow 32–33, 34–35
Alien 28–29 Gravity 36–37 Rice 19, 20, 32–33, 34–35
Bee 12–13 Height 30–31, 47 River 11
Bug 12–13 Hopscotch 10 Robot 14–15, 16-17, 31
Can 18–19, 21 Ladybird 12–13 Scales 36–37, 47
Carnival 18, 20–21 Leaf 7, 12–13 Shapes 5, 7, 22, 24–25,
Coat hanger 36–37 26–27, 28–29, 32, 38, 46
Colour 7, 14, 19, 22, 32–33, Share 42–43, 44–45
34, 38, 46 M, N, O, P Size 5, 8–9, 32
Compare 5, 8, 30–31, Sort 8–9, 37
36, 47 Measure 5, 7, 30–31, 32, Subtract 18, 21
Count 6–7, 10–11, 12–13, 38, 40–41, 47
16–17, 21, 25, 29, 32, 34, 46 Most 7, 34
Number 4, 7, 10–11, 12–13,
14, 16-17, 18, 21, 39, 41, 42,
T, U, V
D, E, F 45, 46
Pattern 5, 7, 9, 22–23, 46
Take away 18, 21
Time 38, 40–41, 47
Divide 42–43, 45 Pebble 7, 8, 12–13 Tomato 42, 45
Equal 17, 21, 42–43, 44–45 Pipe cleaner 24–25, 26 Treasure hunt 6–7, 8
Fewest 7 Pizza 42–43, 44
Fingers 11, 13, 37
Fishing 24 W, X, Y, Z
Fraction 42–43 Wand 22–23
Frog 10 Watch 38–39, 40–41
Fruit 22–23 Weight 36–37, 47