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    Home » Math Activities

    Published: Apr 2, 2023 · Modified: Aug 21, 2023 by Navi Riar · All activities should be supervised by an adult. This post may contain affiliate links.

    Making Sense of Number Sense in Math

    Inside: What is number sense and how can you help your child develop a strong number sense in Math?

    As the parent of a young child, you might wonder “How can I set up my child for success in math?” In my experience, parents often believe if they can get their child to count to 20 or 100, their child now has the skills to move onto more difficult topics. 

    However, a solid foundation in math goes far beyond counting. 

    Three math activities to develop your child's number sense.
    Jump to:
    • What is Number Sense in Math?
    • 3 activities to develop a strong number sense in Math
    • Check out this number sense video

    Related: Is your child just beginning to count? The you'll need to find out about the early math principle of Stable Order.

    What is Number Sense in Math?

    The ability to intuitively understand numbers and how they relate to each other make up our number sense. Our number sense allows us to think about numbers flexibly and fluently. It gives us the tools we need to creatively manipulate numbers in different ways to solve problems.

    Strong number sense in Math

    A child with a strong number sense can demonstrate different ways to break up the number 6 into two groups like 5 and 1 or 4 and 2. They understand concepts such as 8 is 1 more than 7, or that 2 is closer to 0 than 3.

    Poor number sense in Math

    A child with poor number sense might only think of 6 as an answer to a problem like 5 + 1. This can happen when procedural steps are heavily emphasized.

    It’s not that the first child is more intelligent than the second child. They simply have more tools to work with when it comes to thinking about numbers and how they can be manipulated.

    3 activities to develop a strong number sense in Math

    Fear not! You do not have to have a fancy math background to help your child develop a strong number sense. The best way for them to have an intuitive understanding of numbers is through play with hands-on activities and learning from mistakes.

    Here are three simple activities you can do with your child to help them develop their number sense in Math.

    Number Sense Activity 1: How many pennies?

    Help children develop number sense with hands-on activities, such as estimating the number of coins that would fit on a line.
    • Draw different lines of different lengths and have your child estimate how many pennies would fit on each line. Make sure to write down the estimate. 
    • Next, have your child place the pennies on the line to see how many pennies are actually needed and write down that number too. Chances are their next estimate will be closer to the actual number of pennies that fit on the next line.

    Number Sense Activity 2: Know your number line

    Train your child's number sense with a number line activity.
    • Draw a number line from 0 to 10 by marking off intervals of equal length and writing the corresponding numbers underneath each marking. 
    • Ask your child these questions:
      • How far is 1 away from 3? 
      • Can you find two numbers that are five spaces apart? 
      • Can you find two numbers that are the same distance from 7? They can use the distance between the numbers as a means for establishing how numbers are related to each other.

    Number Sense Activity 3: Make and break 5

    Have conversations with your child about the number of blocks in each bowl, to help them develop number sense in math.
    • Grab two bowls and five blocks. One of the bowls should have all five blocks and the other should have none. 
    • Ask your child to move one block into the empty bowl and tell you what they notice. You want them to see how five blocks can be split into two groups of four and one but as a total, you still have five blocks. 
    • Next, move over another block so you have a group of three and a group of two. Ask them to describe the pattern they notice or see if they can predict what to do next. 
    • Have them repeat this step until the first bowl is empty and the second bowl has all five blocks. 
    • The conversations you have with your child are just as important as the activity!

    Check out this number sense video

    • In this video, I share how you can teach number sense to preschoolers and get a free number sense printable.

    Providing your child with strategic and intentional learning experiences can fundamentally change how your child perceives math. Spending just a few minutes a day a couple of times a week with these types of activities can help them develop their number sense and confidence to embrace mathematical challenges. 

    Check out more fun Math activities for your child

    • Haircut Number Game
    • Cutting Heart Puzzle
    • Sticky Note Icecream Math
    • Easy Subitising Games
    • Pouch Cap Flowers Counting Box
    • Bottle Caps Counting Board
    • 10 One to One Correspondence Counting Activities

    More Math Activities for Kids

    • Using plastic eggs and egg carton for one to one correspondence counting activity for kids
      10 Activities for Kids to Master One-to-One Correspondence Counting
    • shape activities for kids
      10+ Hands-On Shape Activities for Preschoolers 
    • 10 Easy Counting Activities to Help Preschoolers Learn to Count 1 to 10
    • Count with Confidence: 5 Easy Activities to Master the Stable Order Principle

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    About Navi Riar

    Navi Riar is a credentialed Math Educator with sixteen years of classroom experience. She is the founder of Ready Set Learn and runs math coaching programs in local schools. Navi is passionate about making math accessible for all children using a hands-on approach and shares best practices to empower families to help their children with math. You can find her on Instagram at @mathteachermomblog

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    1. Parm says

      July 23, 2023 at 9:19 am

      Superb!

      Reply

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    Hi there, I'm Fynn, an educator, author and mom of 3. I believe nurturing a love of learning begins at home. I'm here to help parents nurture a love of learning and build a strong bond with their children through fun learning together.

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