The punchlines to five summer time jokes have been encrypted as secret messages, using Pigpen Cipher. Can you crack the code?
You can also have a go at encrypting your own secret messages, using our Cryptography resource developed by the Open University, with five different ciphers to choose from.
>> Download Code Cracker Challenge
>> Download Cryptography Resource
In the beautifully illustrated "Molly and the Mathematical Mystery", a young girl goes on an interactive adventure - and you're invited! Lift the flaps and solve the clues, to explore there's more to maths than sums and numbers. A great read for children of all ages, and adults too.
Title: Molly and the Mathematical Mystery
Author: Eugenia Cheng
Illustrator: Aleksandra Artymowska
Published by: Templar Books
Best suited for Early Level
An ideal story for ages 3-6, this early years resource covers counting from 1-20, large and small sizes, sorting shapes and encourages creativity in an outdoor setting.
To watch the video, including a BSL version, and request the free supporting teachers notes, visit the JoJo Gnome website.
Created by Jo Hall
We love a good dice game! If you travel with some dice in your pocket, you'll never be bored, there's so much you can do with them. Today's game Threes Away requires five dice - you'll also need to think strategically, and it encourages number recognition too.
Best suited for Early Level
‘JoJo Gnome & the Shape Map’ finds JoJo Gnome making a map from all of the shapes he finds on a walk with his Grandpa. An ideal celebration of STEM and outdoor learning.
To watch the video and request the free supporting teachers notes, visit the JoJo Gnome website.
Created by Jo Hall
In celebration of Book Week Scotland, we're launching a new video series with reviews of children's books that have a maths or numeracy focus.First up we have Abigail, by Catherine Rayner, shared by Fiona from National Museums Scotland. This book has a very special connection to the museum, as the author was inspired by the giraffe on display in the animal galleries.
Book title: Abigail
Written & illustrated by: Catherine Rayner
Published by: Little Tiger Press
It's a Summer of sports - can you work out from the clues, who has gone to watch which sporting event, and what snacks they are eating? There are two levels of difficulty to choose from. In the advanced level, you'll also need to work out what the weather is like.
We continue our Book Week Scotland recommendations with Helena from the Scottish Book Trust sharing why she loves "You Can't Count on Dinosaurs!" by Philip Ardagh & Elissa Elwick
Title: You Can't Count on Dinosuars! An Almost Counting Book
Author: Philip Ardagh
Illustrator: Elissa ElwickPublished by: Walker Books
Published by: Walker Books
Best suited for Early Level
Videos and activities to do with your class or at home covering topics including classification, patterns and symmetry. Teachers notes and plans are also provided.
Content created by the Scottish Mathematical Council
Queah is a traditional board game from Liberia. The two-player strategy game has some similarities to draughts, in that you capture your opponent's counters by jumping over them. A unique feature is that you have a reserve, from which you can replace your captured counters.
Best suited for Early Level
Fun, physically active, story-based sessions teaching maths for 2-5s.
Don’t let your learners miss out and try a session with no-preparation required.
Our final Book Week Scotland recommendation comes from Catherine at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, who has chosen to share "Ten Delicious Teachers" by Ross Montgomery & Sarah Warburton
Title: Ten Delicious Teachers
Author: Ross Montgomery
Illustrator: Sarah Warburton
Published by: Walker Books
Get ready for some seasonal summer counting fun! How many of each ice cream can you find? For a bonus activity, colour them all in.
In our latest book review, author Kjartan Poskitt introduces his book 'The Magic of Maths' which is full of fun maths tricks to keep children busy for hours - from using the power of maths to beat the calculator, to performing amazing card tricks, and even reading minds!
Title: The Magic of Maths
Author: Kjartan Poskitt
Published by: Scholastic
Best suited for Early Level
Developed for Maths Week Scotland 2021, these resources from the Scottish Book Trust embed numeracy into early years activities. The resources contains ideas for activities, songs and rhymes to help plan fun sessions with a numeracy focus.
Counting songs and rhymes, finger counting and props can help reinforce number sequences, physical values of numbers and children's overall awareness of numbers.
Our theme for 2024 is Maths Tales, so for World Book Day we are showing you how to make an origami bookmark. Origami involves a lot of maths skills, including spatial awareness, fractions, lines, angles, symmetry or rotation.
Best suited for Early & First Level
Bubbles are a fun way to explore maths, including counting, comparing sizes, identifying shapes, measuring, and describing movement and direction. For our 2023 theme 'Maths in Motion', Glenwood Family Centre created a sheet with a recipe to make your own bubble blowing solutions, and some suggestions for maths inspired activities. They have kindly provided us with a copy of their activity sheet to share, which you can download below.
What are you passionate about? The beautifully illustrated book "Count On Me", by Miguel Tanco, celebrates some of the different ways we see the beauty of our world - through art, music or maths - and encourages children to find their own passion. Recommended by Jenni Fuchs from Maths Week Scotland
Title: Count On Me
Author & Illustrator: Miguel Tanco
Published by: Tate
Best suited for Early & First Level
All too often, a barrier to learning is a child's lack of confidence in their own ability, which is why the NumBots Scrapheap Stories were created, free for everyone to enjoy on YouTube. Each adventure serves as a gateway to a different growth mindsets, such as developing resilience, independent learning, respect, teamwork and more.
In the latest episode of our children's books series, Liam from Museum on the Mound introduces us to 'Money for Beginners' - an illustrated, easy to understand introduction to all things money, for all ages.
Author: Eddie Reynolds, Matthew Oldham & Lara Bryan
Illustrator: Marco Bonatti
Published by: Usborne Books
Is there a greater language of love than maths? Well, we may be a bit biased. But there's plenty of maths involved in our fun Valentines Day Lego hearts. So what are you waiting for - raid your Lego box, and get building!
Best suited for Early & First Level
We’re thrilled to offer exclusive access to our outdoor-friendly, FREE NumBots resource — Break it to Make it! This flexible and engaging activity is all about breaking numbers into parts, a key skill for early maths learners.
Whether you're:
your students will love exploring numbers in creative, active ways!
The big circular windows that take pride of place in many churches or cathedrals - often referred to as 'rose windows' - are usually divided into symmetrical sections, with intricate designs made up of shapes. Today, we'll show you how to create your own mini rose window, with a symmetrical design.
Winter is a perfect time of year to cuddle down with a good book. With plenty of counting books for kids to choose from, it's also a great opportunity to include some maths in your seasonal story time.
(This video was part of our 2022 Christmas Holiday Countdown)