Learning Resources MathLink Cubes Numberblocks 1-10 Activity Set Review
THIS ITEM WAS GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW. ALL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE THE REVIEWER'S OWN.
Reviewed by Helen O
My son has recently started in Reception year and is currently learning all about Number Bonds. As luck would have it, I was fortunate enough to be chosen to review the Learning Resources MathLink Cubes Numberlocks 1-10, which was right up his street and couldn’t have been better timing.
Before being allocated the MathLink Cubes to review, I had never heard of the CBeebies Award-winning TV series, the Numberblocks, but now it’s opened up a completely new world for my son’s learning. The MathLink Cube activity set comes complete with 30 fun maths-based activities, which tie in with episodes of the series and for once I’m not battling with my son over his screen-time!
The set arrived really quickly and was well packaged, in recyclable cardboard. The outer box for the MathLink cubes was brightly coloured and very appealing for both myself and the intended audience of age 3+ years. The box told me everything I needed to know about what I should expect to find inside, which was 251 pieces comprising:
100 Numberblocks MathLink Cubes
59 Faceplates
54 Stickers
11 Numberlings
11 Character Cards
15 double-sided write and wipe activity cards
1 stand for Zero
A multilingual Supporting Activity Guide
The only thing that I thought was missing was a dry wipe marker, to complete the set, which we had to source elsewhere, as it was needed to complete some of the activities. I would suggest including one in the pack in future.
I love how the blocks look, using bright colours which appeal to the age range and also reflect the characters on the TV series. We spent a bit of time putting the stickers onto the faceplates, which is always an activity which my son really enjoys, so that went down well, particularly as it helped him create the characters from the show. Also, the cubes were a good size for little hands to hold and were easy to join together.
I personally found the supporting activity guide a little difficult to get my head around, in the first instance. This may have been down to the fact that I was a complete Numberblocks novice and if I’d had a bit of experience of the TV series, prior to receiving the pack, I may have been able to hit the ground running. It was much easier, once I’d watched a couple of episodes.
Each activity card is linked to specific episodes from series 1-3 of the Numberblocks. The activity guide tells you the name of the episode, the maths skill involved and what Numberblocks you’ll need to complete each activity. My son particularly enjoyed the activities which involved putting the blocks together in different number configurations. Some of the terminology used in the activity guide, such as subitising and partitioning definitely seemed to be aimed at a slightly older audience than age 3+ or maybe it’s just been a long time since I was in school!
There is a whole range of Numberblocks themed items available on the Learning Resources website, including a MathLink Cubes Numberblocks 11-20 Activity Set, Puzzle sets and Cuddly Companions all of which accompany the CBeebies series.
The activity set retails for £25.96, which I feel is reasonable given the number of activities that can be undertaken. I think the set would be a perfect school resource for Key Stage 1 classes, although they would need access to the Numberblocks series.
Rating: 4 out of 5
RRP: £25.96
Buy from Learning Resources here.