Learning Resources Mathlink Cubes Early Maths Starter Set From Bargain Max Review

I was delighted to be given the opportunity to review The Learning Resources Mathlink Cubes, Early Maths Starter Set.  (Editor’s note – from Bargain Max) I do wish I had known about this when the first lockdown began as this would have been ideal for my then 5 year old, and a much preferred method of counting than the random pieces of Lego we used.

I have been home schooling a 9 year old and 6 year old whilst trying to keep a 2 and a half year old happy, so I have become a little obsessed with education and how I can support my children going forward. I actually expected to be the only one at home who was excited to be reviewing Maths equipment but my 9 year old informed me that she still uses apparatus in class, and these particular cubes are the equipment that everyone rushes to grab first.

That said, I am primarily reviewing this as a method of supporting my year 1 child and my youngest son who is learning to count. I feel that my youngest especially has missed out on playgroups and has been denied a lot of my attention, and being a summer baby I want to give him the best start for when he does go to school.

The box is slim, sturdy and all of the pieces fit easily inside. You have 10 different coloured sets of maths cubes, with 10 in each set. The hollow cubes are around 2 cm in width and made of sturdy plastic which do not compress if you were to squeeze them. Each face of the cubes has a different mini-shape cut into the side for a bit of 2D shape practice. The cubes click into one-another and have to be pulled apart with a small amount of effort. With this part of the set alone you can practice colour, shape, counting to 100 and move onto addition, subtraction and early fraction work.

The second part of the set is really impressive and gets maths geeks like me excited. There are 15 double sided cards which can be wiped clean, and these give you starting points and ideas for various maths problems and topics. For example sorting and patterns, addition and subtraction, counting in multiples, shape, measurement, sharing (early division) and number bonds. The instruction book states which number cards refer to a particular area of maths, and gives parents prompts and ideas regarding how the cards and cubes should be used. This makes is easier to find the appropriate cards for the topic you are working on.

For instance when looking at early measurement there is a card with a picture of a pencil for the children to measure in cubes, and a second card to measure a rocket. Once they have done this they are encouraged to measure other objects around them using the cubes, before moving onto converting the measurement into centimetres by counting is 2’s (cubes measure 2cm). For every topic there are clear steps for progression, however the instructions are so simple, quick and to the point. You could easily sit down with your child for a fun and active 10 minutes maths lesson, or a more detailed half hour session should you wish.
A set like this is ideal when used to support the learning carried out in class so I would advise asking your child’s teacher what topics to work on. My son told me that it doesn’t feel like work as we make it into a game, treating the set like any other toy.
The only niggle is that a pen is not provided for the cards, although to be honest most activities are cube based for tactile learning.
As I now have a better insight into what children learn in early years and year 1 due to a year of home schooling, I can see how much these cards can support parents and they have real value for maths practice at home. For my kids, maths is more fun when you use brightly coloured cubes and they stay engaged for longer. I’m so pleased to have these to help with homework, going forward.

My 6 year old sometimes found it tricky to push the cubes together but I think this will get easier with practice. You have to appreciate the balance between making it easy to connect the disconnect the cubes, whilst ensuring that they don’t keep coming apart which would be far more annoying.

The price-point is excellent for the quality of the set, and the box is compact enough to store the equipment without taking up too much space. I cannot stress how much I love this, and just wish that I’d had it when my oldest was a starting pre-school.
The recommended age is 3 plus, and I am inclined to agree with this. That said my 2 and a half year old liked to count the cubes and practice his colours, so if you trust your child not to lose or try to eat the cubes then I’d say start sooner. Children would get the most from this set up until perhaps the end of year 2, or early year 3 depending on your child’s ability. Bring them out again when they start to learn fractions too!

This is the ideal home maths set to support kinaesthetic learning and homework, but hopefully not home schooling again! I would recommend this to anyone with young children who wants to develop a passion and understanding in maths, and make it fun. This is the easiest 5 star rating to give.

Rating: 5/5

RRP: £16.50

This product can be purchased from Bargain Max here.