I am sharing a super fun and easy way to support children’s early maths skills. This 100 fingers resource can be used for all sorts of activities like times tables games that really help children grasp and practice mathematical concepts in a fun and meaningful way.
So get those fingers wiggling and join me learning to count to 100 in 1′s, 5′s and 10′s!
This post is part of the 100th Day Blog Hop hosted by the wonderful This Reading Mama and No Doubt Learning. I’m joining over 20 other bloggers around the world from the Kid Blogger Network to bring you a variety of crafts, activities and resources to celebrate the number 100 and the 100th day of school! (Although of course these are great resources for any day of the year!)
We’ve all seen children using their fingers to help them count, add, subtract and multiply but of course beyond 10 it can get a bit tricky can’t it? This is why I love this times tables resource so much; it gives the children all the fingers they need to extend their maths right up to 100 without getting in a muddle!
To make this times tables resource I simply photocopied the children’s hands. They thought this was great fun and we had to do it a few times because they loved it so much!
Here’s little Crumb with his first one. He loved it!
I found that getting the children to put their wrists close together helped give enough space to spread their fingers out. Once I’d got a good photocopy of a pair of hands I then re-copied that one until I had 10 pairs or 100 fingers in all. I decided to do 5 of each of my two boy’s hands, one child’s on white paper and one on yellow, but any colours would do.
Then I printed out the numbers 10, 20, 30 etc to one hundred, cut them in to rounds and stuck them in the middle of each hand. I then laminated the hands to make them stronger and more durable. Laminating this times tables resource also means that we can write on them with felt marker or dry wipe pens and erase it easily too, so they can be used again and again, which is great!
Different ways to use your 100 fingers!
There are so many ways you can use your times table resource and not just for learning times tables either! I am a great believer in learning through play and think this can easily apply to maths learning too. Here’s a few of the counting games and times table games that we’ve enjoyed with this simple resource.
1 to 1 Correspondence
- The hands are really great for working on one to one correspondance for younger children. They can match objects to each of the fingers and you could write the corresponding numbers on the fingers too if you wanted.
- Another idea is to give them a number, say 6, and ask them to draw a ring on six fingers or add little faces o make 6 soldiers etc.
- The fingers can also be used for adding and subtraction too. Using washable marker pen or counters children can easily see and understand these early maths concepts.
- You can use two coloured washable pens to explore number bonds to ten. For example you could mark three fingers with a red dot and children can count and mark how many more are needed to make ten.
- This could be extended to write the numbers too
- And then extended again, introducing mathematical symbols and writing simple number sentences e.g. 3+7=10
- Of course these ideas could easily be used to extend the activity to number bonds to 20 too.
Counting to 100 and Number Formation
- I love how easy and fun these are for children to practice counting all the way to 100 with. My children really enjoyed laying them all out in a long row and counting all the way along.
- You could travel a car or jumping bunny etc from one numer to the next if you liked.
- Children might also enjoy writing the corresponding numer onto each finger which gives them a great opportunity to practice their number formation.
- A great extension is to line the numbers up in order and give the children a number verbally or written and ask them to write or insert it in the correct place.
Times Tables Games
- We’ve used this maths resource a lot for 5 and 10 times tables games. You can use the cards as they are for tens times table practise. Muddle and Sort, the cards can simply be muddled up and the children can put them in the correct order.
- You could play a run around game of Hunt The Number. Scatter the cards around the garden or house and children can have great fun racing around trying to find the next one.
- You can play a fun game of Times Tables Action. You scatter the cards around the floor and call out a number and an animal to pretend to be or a movement to do. The child has to move from one number card to the next in the correct order, like that animal or moving in the said way. For example slither like a snake to 60. The child can slither to 10, then 20 etc saying each numer out loud.
- Of course by drawing on the five times table numbers you can easily adapt these ideas to the five times table too.
These are just a few of the ideas to do with all these 100 fingers, I’m sure you can think of lots more! When we’re not using our Times Tables Games Resource for hands on activities I simply hang it in a long line as a wall display, it looks pretty cool and the children love that it’s actually their hands along the wall.
You might also like:
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