Using chalk (or large pieces of paper if indoors) write the numbers 0-10 in a large open space.

For example, if you hold up 3 fingers – your partner holds up 7 fingers.

Hold up x amount of fingers and your partner needs to hold up the corresponding number to bond it to 10.

The aim of this game is to match the number of fingers needed to make 10.

One person places any card down and if you have the matching bonding number you can Snap it and set the pair to the side.

Use the number cards from above and divide them amongst players.

For a bit of fun you could join in and time yourself too (and of course demonstrate how even if you get it wrong how you can self-correct which is such a wonderfully valuable skill to have).

Time how quickly your kid can match their pairs.

Use the same cards from above and jumble them all up.

You could set a timer to see if on each round you can get faster!.

Race one card at a time to match its partner (i.e.

Give the child the other pile to stand at the far end of the room.

Lay half of them at one end of the room/corridor.

Draw the numbers 0-10 (ensuring you have TWO 5s!) onto separate pieces of paper.

Once your child has grasped the concept of number bonds, there are a whole range of ways to practise the answers in order to get faster. Outdoors is a great place to start learning number bonds – and children love collecting and finding items to represent their 10 things. It can also be played anywhere for quick revision.įinally – you can use any resources you can find to help you play and learn. Fingers are a great tool as the group quite clearly shows 10 and the missing number is still partially visible. After playing for a while you’ll see your kids start to answer faster and faster – and there’s no worksheets in sight!Īnother way to show groupings is to hold up 10 fingers then tuck x amount away and ask “How many more fingers do I need to add to show 10?”. Have a play around and let your kids ask you questions too. You could even start hiding your group so that they begin to calculate it all on their own. “So if there are 10 teddies and you have 8, how many must I have?”.

Remember to keep reminding them that there are 10 in total so that their brain is always linking these addition questions with the number 10. Next split the group into two and ask (for example) “If I have 4 teddies, how many do you have?”.

To do this, I lay out 10 counters (you could use 10 large pieces of pasta, 10 x 1p pieces, 10 teddies, 10 stones etc) in a row. Let them explore and figure things out for themselves. To begin with, let your child explore how number bonds work – without focusing too much on the correct answer. solid objects) that children can touch and move around which helps consolidate the learning of this new skill.īelow are a range of ways you can learn and practise number bonds. So when teaching and exploring number bonds, please always use concrete materials (i.e. Of course it is important to understand the how and why number bonds work (there’s no point in simply knowing number bonds – it’s important children grasp what is actually happening when we bond numbers together). Knowing this, your brain is faster calculating the difference between 57 and 60 (as your brain can quickly bond the 7 to the next 10 resulting in the answer being 3). The faster you can recite these number bonds the stronger the connection in your brain is between these two numbers and thus the faster you can perform other related mathemathical tasks.įor example, 7+3 = 10. pair) with another in order to result in a specific answer. ‘Number Bonds’ simply means which number you’d ‘bond’ (i.e.

Number bonds is another great tool – and in lower primary children work on ‘Number Bonds to 10’ and ‘Number Bonds to 20’. Most of us will have drilled Times Tables at some point in our lives – and that wasn’t just to torture us – it’s useful to know the answers so that you can quickly mentally deduce the answers to a whole host of other mathematical problems. In maths, there are certain concepts that are beneficial to not only understand, but memorise.

Kindergarten math games number bonds