What to do with this activity?
Dominoes is a great counting game invented by the Chinese hundreds of years ago. A set of dominoes usually has twenty four tiles, each tile with two ends. Each end has a different number of dots - from zero to six.
To play, place the tiles face down on the table and mix them up so that no-one knows where they are. Each player picks up seven tiles and makes sure not to show the tiles to the other player. Players then take turns to lay a tile on the table, always matching the number of dots at one end or the other. For example, if Player 1 lays down a tile that has one dot at one end and 4 dots at the other, Player 2 must find a tile that has either 1 or 4 dots to match it at one end. If no match can be made, then the player must pick up another tile at random from the centre. The first player to get rid of all their tiles is the winner.
For video instructions from VideoJug, click on this link. If you prefer, you can make dominoes out of stiff card and decorate them with a thick marker.
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Why am I doing this?
Children learn numbers and maths in a natural way through play and everyday activities. It’s different to school and should always be fun and practical – that way your child will enjoy working with numbers.
Your child also develops a sense of patterns and what time means in everyday life. This is important for helping your child to manage everyday activities – going places, how long they have to wait and understanding when things will happen in the future.
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How can I do more?
Talking about numbers helps your child’s fluency in counting, estimating and understanding numbers and money in everyday life. It takes time for children to understand addition and subtraction so use objects when helping them understand this or when doing their homework.
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