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The Difference Between b and d | Jack Hartmann Telling b from d

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The Difference Between b and d | Jack Hartmann Telling b from d

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Help your child to write their numbers the correct way round

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Help your child to write their numbers the correct way round

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9 Tips to Help Correct Letter Reversals | Skills4Life

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Skills 4 Life Pediatric Occupational Therapy

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Correct Letter Reversals with These 9 Writing Tips

It is common for preschoolers and kindergartners to reverse letters. But, by age seven, children should only be making occasional reversals. If letter reversals persist after handwriting remediation, they can be a sign of dyslexia or other learning disabilities. In that case, further testing may be warranted.

Regardless of whether or not a child has a learning disability, they should be instructed in how to form letters and numbers correctly. If your child is learning to write by simply copying letters, it is unlikely that they will learn proper letter formation. Repeated errors only reinforce reversals. Therefore, it's important to work toward error-free learning. It's much easier to develop good habits than to change bad ones, so early intervention is critical!

Here are 9 tips to help correct letter reversals with your child:

Establish a Mental "Picture" of Each Letter

Help your child establish a visual memory of each letter and the letter name and sound. Children who frequently exhibit reversals confuse reversible letters such as 'b' and 'd' because they have trouble pulling them from memory.

Play "Memory" or "Go Fish," using the letters the child tends to reverse.

Have them do a letter search by circling all of the letters your child has difficulty with ('b's, 'd's, etc.) within an article, or have them match pictures to the letters the picture starts with ('b' with bird, 'd' with dog, etc.).

Also, Letter Reflex is an excellent app for teaching kids the proper orientation of commonly reversed letters. It also provides kinesthetic input to reinforce learning. It has two fun games that become harder as your child succeeds. The games are timed, and you can track accuracy via progress reports the app generates and emails. One of our students said, "This is so fun! I could play it all day!!!"

Correct Letter Reversals of b/d:

Form circles with your thumbs and pointer fingers to make 'b' and 'd' with your hands.

Bring them up to your eyes and look through your b-d glasses ('b' on the left hand and 'd' on the right hand), OR

Make your bed. The letter 'b' forms the headboard of the bed and makes the first sound in bed. The letter 'd' forms the foot of the bed and makes the last sound in the word bed.

Correct Letter Reversals of p/q:

Make a thumbs down with both hands. The letter p (formed with your left thumbs down) comes before q (created with your right thumbs down) in the alphabet.

Teach Directionality

Most reversals are left/right inversions like b/d and p/q, rather than up/down inversions like n/u or m/w.

See the Skills 4 Life blog post, Teaching Your Child Left & Right, for some fun ways to facilitate teaching your child left from right.

Group Letters with Similar Stroke Patterns

Prevent reversals from occurring by teaching proper letter formationand grouping letters with similar stroke patterns. For example, the "Magic C Letters" 'c,' 'a,' 'd,' 'g,' 'o,' and 'q,' all begin with a "c stroke." The "Diver Letters" 'b,' 'h,' 'r,' 'n,' 'm,' and 'p,' all begin with a line down and then swim up and over.

Teaching letter formation this way makes it easier for children to create a mental image of each letter. Thereby, creating a sharper visual memory of the letters commonly reversed.

Once children know that 'd,' 'g,' and 'q' are "Magic C Letters" and 'b' and 'p' are "Diver Letters," they will be less inclined to reverse them.

Model Proper Letter or Number Formations

Model proper letter or number formations to demonstrate the necessary arm motions and stroke sequences.Yes, this means you need to know how to form them properly too!

Reference this guide for teaching proper formation: Handwriting Without Tears Letter Formation Charts.

Use Online Resources from Handwriting Without Tears

Use the Handwriting Without Tears Wet-Dry-Try activity, using their slate chalkboard or Wet-Dry-Try App to reinforce the proper graphomotor sequences for capital letter and number formation. Remember to use the Handwriting Without Tears Letter Formation Charts above.

Correct Letter Reversals - One Letter or Number at a Time

Focus on remediating one letter or number at a time so that multiple correct practice repetitions are possible.

Have your child roll a die and write the letter (or number) as many times as the die says. This activity is also a great way to work on number identification and addition skills by using more than one die.

You can also have them write as many words as possible, beginning with the letter you are practicing

Play Tic-Tac-Toe using the letters or digits that are challenging for your child instead of the traditional 'x' and 'o.'

Use Multisensory Activities

Keep writing practice fun and engaging by using multisensory activities.

Have your child make letters out of different materials and then trace them with their finger. You can try Play-Doh, Slime, Wikki Stix, or sandpaper.

Write letters in a tray filled with sand, shaving cream, pudding, or rice.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Practice daily for multiple days to reinforce new habits and develop muscle memory. Just 5-10 minutes of daily practice will strengthen proper letter formation. Have your child check their own work and make sure they formed their letters correctly. If they don't recognize all of their errors, make a game out of it to see if they can find the remaining reversals.

Use Your Thumb As a Guide

For proper number formation, use your thumb as a guide. Try this Thumb Number strategy!

If your child still needs help, learn more about working with a certified Handwriting Without Tears specialist.

While there are many techniques you can use to help your child correct letter reveals, the best way to prevent them is through proper early education. Focused intervention is the key to becoming a successful writer. Contact one of our certified Handwriting Without Tears specialists for a handwriting assessment and individualized instruction or remediation.

About Skills 4 Life:

Skills 4 Life Pediatric Occupational Therapy offers a broad range of pediatric occupational therapy services to help your child master age-appropriate developmental skills, become more independent, increase academic success & develop confidence. The experts at Skills 4 Life specialize in handwriting, keyboarding & executive function coaching, but also work with children on social & emotional learning, motor skills, self-regulation strategies & activities of daily living. Skills 4 Life Pediatric Occupational Therapy offers your child a safe, compassionate environment to learn the critical skills they need to be successful. Learn more about our team & services at www.skills4lifeot.com, or you can contact our office by email at karina@skills4lifeot.com or by phone at 303.351.1828 for a free consultation.

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9 Tips to Help Correct Letter Reversals | Skills4Life

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It is common for preschoolers and kindergartners to reverse letters. But, by age seven, children should only be making occasional reversals. If letter reversals persist after handwriting remediation, they can be a sign of dyslexia or other learning disabilities. In that case, further testing may be warranted.

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If you want to teach your child how to use scissors correctly from the very beginning, you have come to the right page! Read on to find out how to help your toddler or preschooler learn to cut with scissors.

The Developmental Progression of Cutting Skills Can Be Summarized Into Two Main Stages:

1) mastering the grasp-release motion of the scissors

Learning the grasp-release motion is an important pre-cutting skill for preschoolers (and toddlers) and there are lots of fun activities you can try, in order to help them build this skill.
This page covers the following aspects of teaching your child how to use scissors:

Once your child can use the grasp release motion without scissors, try using scissors in simple snipping activities.

2) mastering the art of cutting along the line

Learning to cut along the line is a tricky task.

It involves bilateral coordination, visual-motor skills, motor planning and more!

Once your child has learned how to use scissors to snip, Part 2 of this mini-series will help you teach your child to cut along a line.

Pre-Cutting Activities: Master The Grasp-Release Motion

A key step in teaching your toddler or preschooler how to use scissors, is to help them master the grasp-release motion of the hands. This will help them learn how to open and close the scissors more effectively.

I like to use all kinds of activities to strengthen the hands using a grasp-release motion, without using any scissors!

1) Using Spray Bottles

Let your child use a spray bottle to water the plants outside or for some bath-time fun.

Squeezing and releasing the trigger helps your child get the hang of a repetitive grasp-release motion with the whole hand.

2) Clothes Pin Activities

Opening and closing a clothes pin (clothes peg) can help a child feel the squeeze and release motion that is needed for scissors.

Elsewhere on my site, I use clothes pins to work on isolating the tripod fingers, but if your child is still too young to use just three fingers, let them use these activities with the tips of all their fingers for the grasp-release sensation.

3) More Grasp-Release Activities

I have more grasp-release suggestions using craft punchers, hole punchers, tweezers and tongs in my

Pre-Cutting Activities: Snipping

Please note these important points:

Once your child has got the hang of the grasp-release motion, your child will be ready to learn how to use scissors properly.

Use age appropriate and blunt-nosed scissors, for your child's safety.

Make sure your left handed child uses left handed scissors - this is very important!

Use the correct scissor grip from the beginning, in order for your child's fine motor skills to develop properly

Why is scissor grip important?

When your little one is older and learning to write, the thumb, index and middle fingers will be controlling the pencil. I call them the tripod fingers. The ring and little fingers will be curled up on the side, providing stability and strength to the hand (the technical name for this is ulnar stability).

So when your child is learning how to use scissors, the thumb, index and middle fingers are the ones which should be opening and closing the scissors, while the ring and little fingers curl up on the side.

Take a look at the pics below to see the best way to hold different scissors.

Snipping Activities - Great For Toddlers and Preschoolers!

1) Snipping Playdough

Have your child roll out playdough sausages/worms and then snip them.

2) Snipping Paper

Prepare narrow strips (1.5cm) of paper so your child can snip across the width.

Snipping narrow strips is easy to do, as the scissors only need to open and close once to be successful.You can use the snipped paper in a collage.

Lots of blogs suggest snipping straws, but this is so bad for the environment, so rather use paper!

3) Snipping cardstock

Cardstock is thicker than paper, and offers more resistance, so it is great for building up endurance.

A cheap source of cardstock is empty toilet paper rolls - have your child snip them to make trees or funny hairstyles like the ones shown!

Resources To Help Your Child Learn How To Use Scissors

Cutting Printables

You will find a range of snipping activities in my compilation of printable Fun Cutting Templates!

These will give your child l ots of cutting practice with lovely end products to build your child's confidence!
View my Fun Cutting Practice Templates now!
Suitable for a range of skills - from preschoolers who are just learning to use scissors, all the way to early elementary kids who need more practice with their scissor skills.

There are 19 different scissor cutting crafts, all with photographed instructions and a variety of templates - over 50 templates in all!

Special Scissors

If your child absolutely cannot get the hang of how to use scissors with a grasp release motion, you could try a pair of special scissors like these, that automatically open after your child has closed them.

(NB this is an affiliate link - I may earn a commission if you purchase something through my link. However, you are under no obligation to purchase anything!)

Didn't find what you were looking for? Try a search of my site! This feature requires JavaScript to be turned on.

If this page was helpful, please share it with your friends!

More Scissor Skills Pages

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If you want to teach your child how to use scissors correctly from the very beginning, you have come to the right page! Read on to find out how to help your toddler or preschooler learn to cut with scissors.

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Six Tips for Teaching Children Scissor and Cutting Skills - GriffinOT

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1. Ensure the child is holding both the paper and the scissors

This might sound quite obvious, but it is a common error I see in the classroom. Often the adult will 'help' the child by holding the paper and just letting them use the scissors. In order to be successful with cutting skills, children need to learn to use both of their hands together. They need to know that the scissor needs to line up with the paper. They must be able to hold the paper steady and in the right position for the scissors. If the adult is holding the paper for the child, then they don't learn scissor skills correctly.

When helping a child learn to use scissors, make sure you help them use both hands. If they need help holding the paper, instead of holding the paper for them support their second hand to hold the paper. This will help them to learn that they need to use both hands together when cutting.

2. A child that has their thumbs facing the ceiling will develop more mature scissor skills

It is essential that the child has their thumbs facing the ceiling. This tip applies to both hands. For the hand holding the scissors the child must hold their thumb facing up towards the ceiling. This means their little finger will face the floor. They must also position the hand holding the paper in this way as well. So, their thumb will be on the top of the paper and their fingers will be underneath. As the child's scissor skills mature they will hold the paper in their finger tips.

Frequently you will see children turn their hand over, so their fingers are on the top of the paper. This reduces the movement and control they have over their hands when cutting. The result is the child has less control when they move the paper and scissors. Their hand position restricts the amount of movement available. Therefore, it is extremely important that the thumbs of both hands face the ceiling.

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Six Tips for Teaching Children Scissor and Cutting Skills - GriffinOT

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This might sound quite obvious, but it is a common error I see in the classroom. Often the adult will 'help' the child by holding the paper and just letting them use the scissors. In order to be successful with cutting skills, children need to learn to use both of their hands together.

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Teacher Tools: Learn how to help your pupils cut better! Easy scissor skills hack!

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Teacher Tools: Learn how to help your pupils cut better! Easy scissor skills hack!

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Number Recognition - The Best 16 Games To Teach It (+ Tips) | Early Impact Learning

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In the ten years I have spent teaching young children between the ages of 3 to 5, one of the most important secrets I have discovered is how to teach recognizing numbers.

Some children will just pick this up from exposure to numbers in their environment. However, for most children this a long process, and needs some real expertise and strategies to get them confidently recognizing numbers. This is where this article comes in!

So, for the short answer, how do you teach children to recognize numbers?
Teach children to recognize numbers by using fun stories or chants for each number. Practise sky-writing the number in air, drawing it in foam or other messy play substances, and by making numbers in craft activities. Seeing numbers throughout their play is crucial.
That's the simple version, but there is just so much more to it than that!

In this article I have condensed ten years of trial and error into 17 tried and tested strategies that you really should try to get children recognizing numbers.

Pretty much all of these games can be used either at school or nursery, or at home. Good luck!

1.Use Stories For Each Number

A great way to introduce stories to start with is with storytelling.

Stories are great for teaching lots of different skills, as stories really tap into children's sense of curiosity and attention like few other things.

One way to do it is have a bag of a few objects. If you are introducing number 3, for example, you could say something like 'This is number 3. Today it went on an adventure. It found 3 magic stones.' (Take them out of the bag). 'It rubbed the stones, and out popped 3 frogs.' (Take the toy frogs out of the bag).

It is good to spend time during the story looking at what the numeral looks like, and getting them to draw it in the air, or on their hand.

2. Number Stones

Beautiful materials help in the teaching of anything, and these number stones are certainly a fantastic natural resource.

All you need for these are some pebbles. I happened to find some excellent white, sparkly stones by chance, that the children really love.

The idea is to write or paint some numbers on some of the stones. There are other things you can do, like create stones with quantities on as well. For example, I have created these stones with different numbers of bugs on:

These stones are great for some of the following things:

Finding objects, such as 3 pine cones, and matching to the right numeral

Match numeral stones to quantity stones, e.g. 4 bugs to the number 4

Trying to copy a number line and put them in order.

This activity is just one of many exciting ways to use stones and pebbles for learning. To find out a whole load more, you can check out this definitive guide on how to use story stones.

3.Use Chants

There are little fun ditties and chants you can use for each number.

For example, number 3 is:
A curl for you, and a curl for me
That's how you make number three! I have used chants that I just found on the internet before. For example, this video has some excellent ones you can use:

Also, children really love this song when it comes to numeral formation:

4.Have Number Actions

Many children learn letters through actions when they do phonics, so why wouldn't the process work for numbers.

The good news is - it does work!

Multisensory learning is definitely the way to go when you are teaching things like recognizing numerals or sounds. It activates a lot more of the brain if you have movements, sound and visuals all mixed together.

The number actions I use I have just invented. They go like this:

0 - Make a circle with your fingers

1 - Throw one arm straight up

2 - Two arms up

3 - These are like Mickey Mouse ears on their side. Put your head to one side, and put Mickey Mouse ears on top (honestly the sideways ears do look like mouse ears)

4 - I get them to cup both hands round their mouths and call 'Four!' This is like when a golfer loses their ball and calls 'fore!'

5 - Show five fingers

6 - Put two fingers up high in the air. This is the signal in cricket for a 'six'. Apologies to my American friends that I know read this blog in droves! If you have no idea what this means, please feel free to invent your own action for six.

7 - Do a salute with your hand. Your arm will have made the shape of a 'seven'.

8 - Pretend to hold two apples, one on top of the other. Put them to your mouth and say 'eight' (as though you just 'ate' the apples)

9 - Put your hand vertically underneath your head with your fingers on your chin. It looks like your head is on your arm, like a lollipop. I looks a bit like a nine - a stick and a circle

10 - Two sets of hands thrown forwards (with ten fingers)

Using actions such as this works a treat for teaching numbers, and is also an excellent way to teach phonemes (sounds) as well.

5.Skywrite Numbers

Skywriting is another great multisensory experience.

It is good if you can show them what the numbers look like on something - maybe a chalkboard, interactive board, or written on big pieces of paper.

The simplest way of skywriting is to stand up, and use your finger in the air to draw the numbers. Make them as big as you can! (i.e. get the children to bend their knees, and stretch up high respectively)

You can make the experience even more exciting by:

Using ribbons or streamers to draw the numbers in the air

Use puppets or toys in their hands to write with

6. Link Numbers To Books

Books are another route to firing up children's curiosity and interest.

The idea of this strategy is that you find opportunities in books to count or find numbers, and then talk about it. You can write the numbers that you find, or link one of the other strategies in this article to the numbers (for example, skywriting the numbers that you find).

There are a mixture of books you can use:

Many books are clearly about maths, and they have lots of numerals in anyway. These work really well.

Some books are nothing to do with counting, but you can link numbers to them anyway. You can count the dwarves in Snow White for example, and write the number. You can count the dogs in Hairy Maclary.

7.Loose Parts On Numbers

Decorating numbers, and turning the numerals into fun art activities is a great way to go to get children recognizing them.

One way is to use loose parts to experiment with the formation of numbers.

All you need to do is create some big numbers somewhere, and the children put lots of loose parts like bottle tops or gems and other things over the top of them to make the shapes of the numbers.

You could:

Draw numbers on big paper

Chalk them on the floor outside

Good loose parts include things like shells, stones, screws, wood slices, pegs, pompoms, and whatever else you can find. If you are looking for ideas of what other materials you can use for loose parts, then I have written an article containing at least 100 ideas, that you can check out here.

8.Number Lines

Number lines are great for children to start to visualize what numbers look like in a sequence. They are also great for number recognition.

Some excellent ways to use them for this purpose include:

Making number lines in artistic ways. The children can decorate them, or stick numbers onto sticks or something similar

They can order numbers on a blank line, copying a number line

Refer to number lines as you sing songs, or do chants. The more they use them the better they will get.

9.Matching Games

Some old-school memory games are great for number recognition. For example, pairs. Have two sets of number cards. I would just focus on the numbers that you are trying to teach, so it could be numbers 1-5 or 0-10.

Place the pairs of cards down, and take it in turns to turn over two and try to find pairs.

Another game that is similar is number bingo.

Matching games like this are quite simply excellent for memory in general. If you want to find out the definitive list of the best preschool memory games for children, then check this out.

10. Number Golf

They really love this one! Many children really enjoy sports, and so if you can tap into this interest then go for it!

There are different ways of doing this, but one easy way is to use big paper. Draw big circles all over the paper - these are the golf holes. Write numbers in these golf holes.

Then all you need is a golf club and a ball. I normally use a small playdough ball that you roll yourself, and the club can be something like a lolly (popsicle) stick.

Hit the ball around the golf-course and try to get it into the holes. This is great for number recognition. You can also:

Go in order like a real golf course

Recognize numbers beyond ten

Try a big outdoor version using large rubber balls and huge circles drawn with chalks. You could kick or roll the balls

Playdough games like this are brilliant for fine motor.

11. Messy Number Formation

The messier numbers can get the better!

The idea is here is to get some kind of messy surface that the children can mark-make numbers on.

You could use:

1. Shaving foam

2. Shaving gel

3. Porridge oats

4. Glitter (if you're feeling brave as this will be very messy!)

5. Flour

6. Sand

Have some big numbers for them somewhere to look at and copy. The children try writing the numbers in the messy substance! Hours of fun.

12. Put Numbers On Construction Toys

Another good strategy to teach numbers is to find out what the children enjoy doing anyway, and just add some numbers to these activities.

A good example is construction toys. Lots of children love using lego and building blocks, and lots of other things like this. Why not add some numbers to these resources?

For example, you can write some numbers on some old building blocks. Can they put them in order?

Can they build numbers out of construction toys?

Can they make a tower using a quantity of blocks that matches a number card?

Tapping into interests is one of the key ways of motivating young children. If you want to find out the definitive list of things you can do to focus pre-schoolers then take a look at this article I wrote about the 15 top strategies.

13. Numbers On Vehicles

Vehicles are another thing that many young children are fascinated by. These offer many opportunities, including:

Make a car-park. Get a large piece of cardboard or paper, and draw some car park spaces on it with numbers on. If the cars have numbers on anyway, even better! You can match the numbers

Have races and put the winners on a podium of some description, labelled 1, 2 and 3

Put vehicles with numbers on in order, maybe following a number line

14. Numbers In Environment

This is a really important way that many children will learn numbers - encountering them in the environment.

There are many things you can do to help the process:

Point out numbers that you or children may find in the environment, and talk about them. Examples could be numbers on doors or bins, numbers on football shirts, numbers on signs

Encourage children to count and record in the activities that they do. For example, build a tower and count the blocks. Make a model of an alien and count the arms.

Include numbers in displays around the room

15. Number Dice Games

Competitions and games with dice really help children to learn now to recognize numbers.

The repetition of seeing numbers again and again really helps, and also a little bit of competition really focusses the minds for some.

Some great games to do with a numeral dice include:

Roll the number dice and do that number of actions - e.g. clap, jump, hop etc

Whack the dough! This is a fantastic playdough game that they really love. What you quite simply do, is first make lots and lots of little balls of playdough. Then you roll the dice and whack that number of balls! This is great for number recognition, and 1:1 counting. Playdough is one of the most exciting resources you can use for early Maths. If you want to learn more playdough maths games, then check these out.

16. Fishing Game

This is a simple adult-led game that they really enjoy.

Get some kind of number cards, and stick a big paperclip to the top. Get a stick such as a broomstick, and tie a string to it. At the end of the string have a magnet tied on.

The idea is to have the number cards in the middle of a circle of children all faced down. One child goes first, and tries to pick up a card with the magnet. Hopefully the magnet will be strong enough. If you are having problems picking them up, then stick more paperclips on the cards!

Fish for a card and then identify what it is!

Right, that's the end of the 16 best games I know to teach recognizing numbers. I'm going to finish with some key questions that many people ask about recognizing numbers.

Common Number Recognition Questions Answered

Why is it important to know number names?

Recognizing numbers is a foundation skill of early maths. It is important to develop before you can go on to many other skills.

Some examples of skills that cannot be attempted without first recognizing numbers includes:

* Ordering numbers in any way

* Finding missing numbers in a sequence

* Being able to add and subtract with written number sentences

How to teach numbers to special needs children?

Many of the same strategies will apply if you are trying to teach numbers to special needs children.

Try to make the strategies as multi-sensory as possible. Actions and physical movement is good to support number recognition.

Please bear in mind that the age and speed with which children will learn numbers will vary greatly if they have any disabilities.

Some children, for example with autism, may learn numbers at a very young age, and number recognition can be an exceptional skill of many autistic children.

At what age should children recognize numbers?

This is a tricky question and really will differ for different children.

In general, children will begin to learn how to recognize numbers somewhere between the age of 2 and 5. It is hard to be more precise than that!

Just because a child learns numbers later than another does not mean that their rate of progress will be slower in the future. It is more an issue of child development rather than an indicator of intelligence.

When are children ready to recognize numbers?

Normally children will display some signs before they start to recognize numbers. These include:

* An interest in numbers in the environment

* They are starting to rote count (or indeed are already good at this skill)

* They are beginning to count objects

Do you teach letters in the same way as numbers?

There are definitely parallels between strategies that work well for both. These include:

* Make it multisensory - the more active and fun the process the more chance they have of learning them

* Use songs, chants and books to help the process

* Repeat and practise what you have learned

Find out more about how letters and sounds are taught here.

Conclusion

The more multisensory you can make number recognition learning the better. Spark children's curiosity with exciting resources, and get them dancing, moving and singing, and the process becomes fun and effective. Good luck, teaching those numbers!

If you liked this article, then why not try one of these:

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Number Recognition - The Best 16 Games To Teach It (+ Tips) | Early Impact Learning

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In the ten years I have spent teaching young children between the ages of 3 to 5, one of the most important secrets I have discovered is how to teach recognizing numbers. Some children will just pick this up from exposure to numbers in their environment.

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Number recognition is a key skill to learn during the early years, and there are many ways in which you can encourage this in your early years setting. We've already explored activities to support the development of numeracy skills in general; in this article we'll concentrate specifically on helping children to learn their numbers.

When planning number recognition activities, there are a few points to keep in mind:

Make sure you have plenty of relevant resources available (e.g. number beads, blocks, stickers, cutters, stamps etc.), as well as visual cues (e.g. posters on the walls).

As well as using numerals it's also helpful to look at other representations of numbers with the children, including words and tallies.

Try to make number activities fun in order to nurture a positive approach to maths.

1. Number bubble game

Draw lots of chalk circles on the ground outside, with a number inside each (1 to 5 or 1 to 10, depending on how much space you have), distributing them evenly so that you end up with several 1s in circles, several 2s in circles, and so on (make sure you have enough for each child playing the game). Call out a number and each child has to find a circle (bubble) with that number and stand in it. Make it more fun by blowing bubbles over the children in between each round.

Take a small group of children out for a walk around the neighbourhood - or perhaps combine it with a visit to the local park - hunting for numbers along the way. There should be plenty of opportunities for number spotting, for example on front doors, gates, buses, cars, posters etc. Get the children to call them out when they see them.

A number hunt is a great way for children to practice number recognition outside your setting

Make your own giant dot-to-dot in the playground, by chalking numbers on the ground that the children have to connect in the right order to make a shape or picture. For younger children stick to simple shapes using fewer numbers; for older children you can make it a bit more difficult.
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Go to the park and collect some conkers. Back at the nursery, draw the numbers 1 to 10 on the ground in a row with chalk, using both numerals and words, and get the children to line up the right number of conkers underneath each one. (Obviously outside conker season there are plenty of other objects you could use for this activity, eg petals, leaves or items from inside.)

Take a sheet of card and make a grid of six squares, labelling them 1 to 6 using both numerals and words. Roll a die and keep a tally in the squares of how many times each number comes up. Children could do this individually, each with their own separate grids, or in pairs or small groups using the same grid but their own dice. You could turn it into more of a game by adding a competitive element.

Recognising and tallying the numbers rolled on dice is another good skill to develop

This is a musical variation of the bubble game. Lay out some foam number tiles on the floor, making sure you have plenty for all of the children playing (if you don't have foam tiles, make your own using some card but tape them down so that they don't slip). Play some music and get the children to dance around; when the music stops, call out a number and they have to jump onto a corresponding tile.

Using some number shape cutters, make some sets of number biscuits with the children and then use squeezy icing to stick the right number of decorations onto each biscuit (e.g. eight raisins on the number 8, three raspberries on the number 3 etc).

Help the children make biscuits with different numbers of decorations, counting them out as you put them on

Here are a couple of ideas for throwing games to help with number recognition. One is to get a set of buckets and label them 1 to 5 (or 1 to 10), then the children have to try and throw the right number of beanbags into each; another is to use a target mat and the children have to try and land the right number of beanbags in each numbered segment.

For this activity you'll need ten paper plates, some coloured pens and some coloured beads. Write the numbers 1 to 10 on the plates, using a different colour for each number. Get the children to put the right number of beads onto each plate; this works particularly well using coloured beads that correspond with the colours used to write the numbers, as it gives the children a strong visual cue.

There are lots of ways in which you can incorporate number recognition into craft activities. One idea is to draw some outlines of ladybirds on a piece of paper, then number them and get the children to add the right number of spots to each. A couple of variations on this include drawing birds and sticking on tail feathers, or drawing monsters and sticking on googly eyes.

One option for a number craft is sticking the correct amount of spots on a ladybird
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Number recognition is a key skill to learn during the early years, and there are many ways in which you can encourage this in your early years setting. We've already explored activities to support the development of numeracy skills in general; in this article we'll concentrate specifically on helping children to learn their numbers.

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Spacing Between Words | Early Literacy Concepts | Reading & Writing | Kids Academy

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Spacing Between Words | Early Literacy Concepts | Reading & Writing | Kids Academy

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Handwriting in Key Stage 1 (5-7 year olds)

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Handwriting KS 1 teacher resources, free: handwriting pattern, letter, join, number and symbol animations, worksheets and key handwriting development stages.