When I first saw Sumblox on Instagram, I just knew we had to get some! We’re all about the hands-on, kinaesthetic learning over here, so they looked like the perfect addition to our play. And they didn’t disappoint! If you’ve not come across them before, they’re very clever, number shaped, wooden blocks, that increase in height proportionately as the numbers go up – so 2 is twice the height of 1, 8 is four times the height of 2, etc.
Our kids are a bit old for doing number recognition and one-to-one correspondence with them, (which would be a great starting point, if you’re looking at using them with a 2 or 3 year old) but the Sumblox keep on being relevant right through the primary/elementary years. They’re absolutely fantastic for doing basic addition – for example stacking 2 and 3 together and finding out they’re the same height as 5, and we’ve used them for multiplication and division too, things like finding out what four 4s equal to, and breaking larger numbers down into “matching” blocks. One of the huge plus points of them, is that our kids just like using them as building blocks in their play – but you know a sneaky bit of maths is getting in there when they’re trying to make their castle symmetrical!
We have the Sumblox home set, which has ten “1” blocks, four each of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, and one “10” – plus an activity card with a couple of play suggestions on it. The blocks themselves are beautifully made – solid wood and very sturdy, with a good weight to them – and if you ever need to add to your collection (or replace a lost block!) you can buy additional individual numbers!
Everyone wants their kids to be confident with maths. Maybe even (dare I say it?!) enjoy maths?!! We have one child here, who is particularly reticent when it comes to anything even remotely mathematical, so the fact that the Sumblox really play into kids’ innate curiosity, playfulness and inquisitive nature is a huge advantage. They provide fantastic learning-through-play! And we’ve really noticed an improvement in our kids mathematical thinking, so it seems the Sumblox are cementing a strong mathematical foundation in them. We absolutely love our Sumblox!!!
Sumblox can be bought from our friends at Yes Bebe! Use our Yes Bebe discount code – WAYTOGO10 – for 10% off your purchases! (And they offer worldwide shipping too!) They can also be found in the USA here.
For more ideas on how to play, check out #sumbloxuk on Instagram!
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A Different Way To Go 