Frequently Asked Questions about Numicon and Multi Sensory Maths
Please find below a list of Frequently Asked Questions, for any clarification or other questions please contact us directly on 01273 515 591 or email us
Please could you give me some information on your At Home Kit?
First Steps with Numicon at Home is our new improved At Home Kit. It is designed for parents of children aged 3-5 to enjoy learning about maths at home through a series of playful games and activities. It will help to give children a head start with the number ideas they meet at school in the Early Years Foundation Stage. At first glance the activities seem simple, so we have included notes for parents explaining why they are significant mathematically; we have also listed the all important maths language that children can learn through each activity.
Are there any rods I can purchase that are the same colour as the Numicon shapes? If not, why are the rods not provided in the same colour?
The Number Rods and Numicon Shapes are different colours because children need to move beyond matching by colour. For example, we don’t want children to always think of the number 5 as being red. In our experience most children cope happily with both images and will use a combination of Rods and Shapes to make a higher number, if they do not have enough of one. It is the patterns of the Shapes and the relationships between them and the relative lengths of the Rods that allow children to make connections between the Shapes and/or the Rods and number ideas. In both the Firm Foundations Kit and the Closing the Gap Kit there is an activity called ‘If this is one …’. It is in this activity that children are asked to give the Numicon Shapes their number names. The same activity can be repeated with Number Rods.
There are useful assessment opportunities in not having a peg colour for each Shape. For example if the teacher arranges the pattern of the 3-shape on the Baseboard with red pegs and asks the child to find the Shape that matches that pattern, were the child to respond by picking up the red 5-shape, then the teacher can see that the child is still matching by colour and is not yet focusing on the pattern of the Shapes. A small number of children do find colour a distraction therefore we now produce grey Shapes as an alternative to the coloured ones. Incidentally some teachers prefer these for reinforcing the Shape patterns for all children!
Why were the particular colours chosen for the Numicon pieces? In FS we find the language of pale/dark blue,green and purple/lilac difficult for our children, many of whom have poor language skills.
we thought long and hard about the choice of colours drawing on our experiences of children's responses to a range of colours:
- We chose the colours to be attractive and appealing.
- The 1-shape is orange because it needs to stand out for 1 more otherwise the lower numbers are lighter in tone the higher ones stronger.
- The odd numbers are warm colours, the evens cooler colours.
- In the research phase we found it was important to avoid having flourescent colours which were found to be distracting to many children.
- We made a deliberate decision to avoid black or brown - because in the research phase we found also that children avoided the black and brown shapes - evidently finding them less attractive, and we didn't want children to attach negative connotations to any particular number.
- We avoided having a white Shape because this wouldn't show up on the Baseboard.
In the Teaching Materials for Firm Foundations and Closing the Gap we do suggest colour names, but these are not set in stone - some teachers discuss with the children in their class what they will call the colours - thus in some classes the 2-shape is called lilac, others call it pale blue, others light blue. All that matters is that the colour names are used consistently in the class to avoid confusion.
I have a young child with Down Syndrome, please could you advise which program is best to use first?
We would recommend that you use Closing the Gap with Numicon – this comes with a progression of comprehensive teaching activities following the typical acquisition of basic number understanding. Each activity comes with suggestions for smaller steps and other ideas for extending the use of Numicon in lots of playful ways as well as connecting activities that will help your child to consolidate number understanding.
Once you feel that your child is ready and understands these Closing the Gap activities, we would then recommend that you purchase the Conversion to Kit One, this will give you teaching materials and equipment to extend the Closing the Gap materials to teach all the Kit 1 Activities.
What is the red post box (included in Kits 1 and 2) for?
The Numicon post box is used in playful activities to give children all important practise to learn arithmetic facts. Try posting a numeral card through the slot to a child, the child then posts back two shapes that add up to make that number. There are many other ideas for using the post box on the activity cards.
Are rods included in the kits? If not, can these be purchased separately?
Rods are not included in the kits, as most schools already have these as a resource, so we sell them separately for £39.50 (ex VAT). The Rods are centimetre scale ranging in length from 1cm to 10cm. They are a really useful additional image and they can by used in place of Numicon in nearly all the activities. They fit neatly into the Rod Trays which children can use for making patterns and building addition facts of all numbers to 10.
Do you have sample packs/inspection copies of Numicon resources?
No, we do not have sample packs, however, there are a number of ways that you van find out more about the Numicon resources.
On the website:
• A video called ‘making numbers real’ about the Numicon approach in general.
• A 'getting started' video introducing what is in the box for each of the main kits.
• A few sample pages of each of the teaching materials and a list of suggested resources per class.
• Free resources.
Returns policy:
• If you are interested but still uncertain, we have a 30 day return policy so you can order a kit to have a look at and if you decide it is not appropriate for your setting you can send it back but you do have to pay for the postage if you do this.
Training from Numicon Professional Development team:
• We have a team of independent Numicon accredited trainers around the country so if you want to really embed Numicon in your school then you could book a half or full day and we do twilights if you are particularly local to one of our trainers. If you are interested then please call Mimi on 01273 515591 or email her at training@numicon.com
Would it be necessary for children to have used Numicon at the Foundation stage first, or could we start a group/class at the next level?
It is not necessary for children to have used Numicon at foundation stage first BUT it is necessary for children of any age to have the opportunity to experiment Numicon Shapes before they use them in their maths work. They also need to be competent with the basic Foundation or Closing the Gap activities before moving onto the calculating work in Kits 1 and 2, however for most children in Year 2 and above (aged 7 up) this will not take long.
In practice, what this means is that they should be able to put the Shapes in order of size, give the Shapes number names and attaching a numeral to each, be able to arrange objects into the Numicon patterns (without counting), be able to combine Numicon Shapes to show addition and compare them in subtraction whilst using the appropriate mathematical language for addition and subtraction.
Where children are having difficulties with maths and with acquiring basic understanding, the assessment signposts booklet, included in Kits 1 and 2, is designed to help with assessing where to start pupils on the teaching programme. The booklet makes reference to the Firm Foundations and Closing the Gap activity cards.
Are there Numicon training courses that teachers can attend or workshops for schools?
Yes, there are various training workshops and conferences taking place throughout the U.K. and we also have a team of Independent Numicon Accredited Trainers who provide training to Local Authority consultants, teachers, parents and charities. If you are interested in attending a training day or organising a training workshop please contact Mimi on training@numicon.com or call 01273 515591.
Please could you tell me more about your Training DVD?
Our Training DVD, Working with Numicon, is a great resource to support Teachers and TAs. The DVD is broken down into six sections and shows Numicon being used within mixed Foundation, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 classes. The DVD also comes with key discussion points and practical activities to use in staff meetings and sessions. Working with Numicon costs £85.00 + VAT and a p&p charge of 5%.
IWB Software
Are we able to purchase a single user licence?
No. However, we do sell a 4 user licence at the price of £75.00 + VAT.
How do I find out my registration key details to log on for the interactive software?
Please e-mail office@numicon.com and you will receive a reply with the details of your user name and your registration key so you may log on.
Special Educational Needs and Numicon for Intervention
Please could you explain how Numicon would be useful to children with special learning difficulties?
Numicon has been found to be particularly helpful for children with learning difficulties because our multi sensory approach plays to children’s strong sense of pattern. Children are able to learn through both seeing and feeling how Numicon patterns connect with each other. By physically building constructions, making arrangements and patterns with Numicon and playing games with the feely bag, children experience both with their hands and their eyes how numbers fit together. We have found that this alternative to purely symbolic representations of number has allowed some real breakthroughs for those with learning difficulties.
There is a useful guidance book, written by Dr Jo Nye, entitled “Teaching Number Skills to children with Down Syndrome, Using Numicon”. This gives many ideas for using Numicon to support pupils with entrenched special needs and can be purchased from Down Syndrome Educational Trust.
My child is just finishing Key Stage 2 and is still struggling with concept images and muddling signs. Do you think Numicons’ kits are too young for my child?
No, not at all. Numicon has a kit called Closing the Gap. This kit has been designed specifically for children of any age who are experiencing much greater difficulty learning mathematics than the majority of pupils their age. The kit is suitable for use as a Learning Intervention programme and also for pupils who have special needs.
I have a young child with dyslexia, who is using Numicon shapes at school. I would like to support his work at home to help with his sums, what would you suggest I buy from Numicon, on a budget?
Numicon and our multi-sensory approach is recommended by the Dyslexia Institute. The most economical and ideal kit, for your child, is the new First Steps with Numicon at Home Kit. This includes the Numicon shapes, pegs and base boards as well as other extras. There are also activity cards in the kit, which introduce some early ideas on numbers and arithmetic. The kit costs £25.53 + VAT and a small order charge of 5%.
What Numicon materials should I buy for intervention?
Please see this link to a page on the website that should give you some good background on using Numicon for Intervention.
In terms of materials, we are working with the Every Child Counts programme and this is what we have recommended each of their schools buy:
Suggested Numicon resources per school to support ECC 2009/10:
| Resources for Intervention and Learning Support | Number | Cost per Unit (Prices as at 1st Sept 09) £ (ex VAT) | Total £ |
| Closing the Gap with Numicon One to One Kit | 1 | 110.00 | 110.00 |
| Conversion to Kit One (for extension to CTG) | 1 | 90.00 | 90.00 |
| Conversion to Kit Two (For extension to Kit 1) | 1 | 70.00 | 70.00 |
| Number Rods | 1 | 39.50 | 39.50 |
| TOTAL | 309.50 |
If you would like some further information about using Numicon in intervention, please contact us on info@numicon.com or 01273 515591.
