Quick Game To Help Build Number Bonds

Number bonds to 10 are one of the vital skills children need.

Make learning them a little more fun by using a pack of playing cards and adapting the game of Memory.

Remove the picture cards and the 10`s. Deal the rest of the cards out, face down, in rows.

Take it in turns to turn two cards over, look to see if the two will add up to make 10. Ace will count as 1.

Children can use the "spots" in the middle of the card to help them count.

If they don`t make 10, turn them back, face down. The other person then takes their turn.

If a pair is found, the person can have another turn. That turn stops if the next 2 cards don`t make 10.

Keep going until all the cards are won. Count up who has got the most pairs.

At the end, have a fast recall round, where the cards are kept in one pile, turned over one at a time and the child calls out its pair. You can create a "My pile, your pile" where the child wins the card if they give the correct answer. It`s a good way of seeing improvements.

The key to these kind of games is enthusiasm from the adult and lots of praise for the child. It works for our pupils.

You can give gentle hints and "think aloud" if you like, building in time limits as the child becomes more confident. You could adapt, adding the picture cards and find its pair to make 20, 30 etc. You could give the Jack the value of 11, Queen has the value of 12 and King has 13. It`s up to you!

Come on, give it a go!