AD | 7 ways to learn with Mathlink cubes (+ giveaway)
As another week of home schooling ends and another stretches in front of us, I have been trying my best to move away from worksheets and make our learning a little more hands on. Both my children are in KS1 and I find that they learn better when they can touch and engage with what they are working on.
So, when Learning Resources offered to send us through some Mathlink cubes to build into our home school journey, I knew that I would be able to put them to good use. This is what we have been doing with them.
WHAT ARE MATHLINK CUBES?
You must remember these from when you were a kid! Stackable cubes which come in a wide range of colours to increase the fun, these little cubes are easy for little hands to push together and take apart again.
Measuring 2cm squared, these cubes may be little but when connected together they pack quite the learning punch.
SHAPES
First up, we have been using them to work on our colours and shapes. It gets a little more complicated outside of squares and rectangles, but that makes it all the more fun. Plus, it’s interesting to see how much easier kids seem to find making non regular shapes compared to adults!
NUMBERS
Next up we have been using them to make numbers. Extra points given in our house if you also use this for a little bit of pattern matching!
MODEL MAKING
What I really like about this one is that is really works for the imagination too. Set them a task – in this case it was make an animal shape – and just sit back to see what they create. The formal structure of the cube shape really forces them to be creative.
COLOUR SEQUENCING
At almost 4, Henry really enjoys this one. A simple task of setting up a colour pattern for them and asking them to copy it. You can make the sequence as long or as short as you like based on the age of your child. If they are a little older, make the shapes more complicated for them to copy.
COUNTING
This is Mathlinks in its most basic form, but also its most beneficial for Darcie who is in reception. She is starting to work on basic maths and these cubes really help. What is 5-2? These cubes help them with adding numbers together or taking them away to then count the number of cubes they are left with to get the answer to the sum.
MATCH A CARD
Great for number recognition, get your child to pick 5 cards and lay them down. They then need to put that number of Mathlink cubes onto the card. A simple game but a good one. If your little ones are a bit older you can get them to write up the number too.
3D SHAPES
Finally, we have been using our Mathlink cubes to start working on our 3D shapes. Squares vs. cubes and rectangles vs. cuboids. We have to start somewhere, and this has been working really well to give us a good foundation to build on to then go and find these shapes in everyday life.
THE VERDICT
I love the simplicity of Mathlink cubes. Their rigid shape forces them to work with them in strict parameters while the click and lock connection helps children to work on their on their hand eye coordination and dexterity.
The last thing my two have been asking whenever we use Mathlink cubes in our learning is, can we play with them now? They seem to love nothing more than building the shapes they create into their imaginative play.
MORE RESOURCES
The team from Learning Resources have also put togethers this amazing set of FREE online resources for us all. There are a massive set of resources available with free printable activity workbooks in the areas of maths, literacy, STEM, coding, the world, early years and of course educational games.
The team are aware that as parents and children are spending so much time at home, they wanted to help. Aimed at children aged 2-11, these packs are designed to keep kids engaged. They are proud to boast that the activities will help turn this time at home into a fun-filled learning experience for us all. What’s more, they’re FREE!
It’s worth checking them out and downloading anything you think your children will enjoy. Now, on to the GIVEAWAY!
THE GIVEAWAY
The team from Learning Resources are giving away a set of 100 Mathlink cubes as a competition prize to one lucky Tippytupps reader. Just enter via Rafflecopter using the link below and follow the usual social media accounts.
This giveaway is open to UK residents only and is powered by Rafflecopter. It will close on Sunday 17th May 2020 at midnight. The winner will be chosen at random using the tool. Please note this competition is hosted by the Tippytupps blog but the prize is being provided by the Learning Resources team who will be responsible for posting your prize out to you. For full terms and conditions for the giveaway, please visit the Tippytupps terms and conditions page.
Good luck!
DISCLOSURE: we were sent the Mathlink cubes in return for this honest review. As always though, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
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I don’t remember them, but they look fantastic for my little ones
yes, I do remember thess
no i dont remember them , fab giveaway
No, I don’t remember them.
No I can’t remember them I must have a memory ‘block’ !
I don’t remember these as a child
Mathlink was after my time as a child I’m afraid.
I don’t really!
NO i dont remember using them but I’m thinking these would be fantastic for my niece who has leaning difficulties and struggles with maths
No I don’t remember having them
Yes! I remember using them in maths classes at school!
Yes, I do!
Yes definitely, just seeing them again brings back so many memories! They were a staple part of our maths learning at school.x
Yes! I remember them! They make a satisfying noise when you break one away from another! My girls use these at school too, great simple resources that have stood the test of time.
no i dont remember them at all but they look fun
No we had nothing like these when I was at school
I remember having them at school but I couldn’t have told you what the name was!
We used to use these as children. I am a childminder and going to train to be a teacher in September so this would a great resource to win.
I do remember these!! Xx
No i dont – they look fab
I’m not sure if I remember them, but they’d be a great help
To my children
no i dont remember them
Oh wow, it’s been many years since I have seen these cubes, I hope they still use them at school, I will have to ask my kids, I would love these for my 5 year old son, it will help with his counting, it definitely helped me.
Yes I do! I used to love it when they pulled these out in school! I always wished I had some for myself at home
no i dont remember them
Yes and my daughter uses them at school now
I remember abacus’s? abaci?
Did they ever make these out of Bakelite?
Yes, and my son has used them.
No, I have no recollection of them. They’re excellent, though, as learning through play toys.
yeah i remember them! x
I do remember using these at school, and I think they would be ideal to help my daughter with her learning
I don’t remember these but I can remember plain wooden blocks that were used similarly but not so much fun.
I can’t remember ekk!
to be honest, I don’t remember them! I don’t remember much before I was hit by a car when 13, only little flashes, so it’s not surprising!
I do remember them from school!
I definitely remember using these as a kid!
Yes I do remember these from school.
No.
I used to love using these cubes during lessons!
I don’t remember these from when I was little, but I do love maths so I’d love to have a go with these now
I really don’t remember them from school.
I do! Suddenly felt very nostalgic looking at those pictures.
yes i do
I don’t remember these from when I was at school, but we did have wooden number blocks in different colour.
No I don’t remember these, bur they look like a lot of creative fun!
I do remember these! My boys are 3 & 5 and I think these would be so helpful on our home learning journey!
Yes I remember them from school lol, I was never a fan of Maths so won’t forget this
No – they never had them when I was at school – it was too many years ago!
No I don’t think I had them
Yes! And they’d be really handy for my 5 year old who is just learning basic addition now!
Yes, I do remember them and think these would be a fantastic learning aid at home.
I don’t remember these as a child, but they look great!
I do yes, they are a great tool to use to help with home schooling
Yes I do remember these
No I don’t remember these but would be great for my grandson
Yes I really enjoyed using them
I don’t think I used these we had other ones
Yes I used to love playing with this in primary school.
No I don’t remember them!
No I didn’t have these as a kid but they look great
I used to love these when I was a kid. My 5 year old daughter would love these too.
No they didn’t have them in my day but that was a long time ago. They look really good though
No I’m far too old but I’m sure my grand daughter would love them
I do remember them, as my spacial awareness is so bad, so I had to make models of 3D shapes!
Yes I had a complete flashback when I saw this page!
Yes, I remember them from primary school! They were a great aid.
I used to love doing maths with these! Think these are the reason i varried on with maths after school!!
No I don’t I remember abacus’s but they look like a great tool for learning.