5 active ways to teach kids maths

You don't have to sit still to learn numbers!

5 active ways to teach kids maths
by Natalie Keeler

Numberblocks is the perfect way to teach your kids maths. Don’t believe us? Just ask Debbie Morgan, who helped make the show. She’s the director of the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (try saying that after a few glasses of wine!). She praises the team for taking the maths "very seriously", and even encourages teachers to use episodes as a resource.

Above all though, the show is designed to be fun! Try these 5 active games inspired by the show to help your child play and learn.

Want even more Numberblocks fun? Our Numberblocks toys and gifts are exclusive to the Giggly – and they're an exciting, easy way to help your child master key skills like counting, subitising, number sense and more.

Numberblocks Magnetic Number Magic

Explore the Giggly shop to discover our NEW Numberblocks Magnetic Number Magic Set, plus the Numberblocks Maths Programme.


1 Numberblocks roleplay game

  • To be 2, your child can march 1, 2, 1, 2.
  • To be 3, they pretend to be The Three Bears, eating three different bowls of porridge.
  • Or for 5, count five fingers and give you a big high five. 

2 Numbers scavenger hunt

Look for numbers in the world. They’re hiding on your phone, on the front doors of houses, on clocks and sometimes even on your clothes.

3 Bring Numberblocks along to snacktime

You'll need: food you can cut into blocks (e.g. cheese or apples)

What to do:

  • Cut the food into blocks and use these to create your own Numberblocks.
  • Now, can they see what happens when Numberblocks come together? For example, 2 joins with 3 to make 5.
  • Sometimes they split apart – 5 can split into 4 and 1, or 3 and 2. And sometimes they disappear altogether (yum yum!)

4 Numberblocks counting mission

Can your child pretend to be 4 and go on a counting mission, collecting things that have four of something? It might be a toy with four legs, a card with four corners or a pack of four crayons. Now challenge them with another number.

5 Tell a Numberblocks story

Choose a number to tell a story about. Try one of these ideas to help you!

  • Numberblock 7 has seen a rainbow! What 7 colours can your child name? If 7 surfs over the rainbow, what will he find on the other side? 7 golden coins maybe?
  • Wow, Numberblock 5 is going into space! 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 – blast off! Can he see stars (with 5 points on each one?).
  • What would happen on Numberblock 3’s first day of school? Maybe he’d take triangle sandwiches (with 3 corners to nibble). And he’d love to listen to the story of the Three Little Pigs.