Making Numberblocks 1-10

This is something I have been meaning to make for ages as the boys both love ‘Numberblocks’ on CBeebies. They have used coloured Duplo towers as the numbers for a while, but it’s been hard to tell them apart as one yellow three-block tower looks the same as another.

Resources

Duplo
Sticky labels
Colouring pencils / pens
Sticky tape

For the second set of Numberblocks, we used two of the special edition CBeebies magazines.

Method

Duplo Numberblocks

Where possible, Ioan picked Duplo blocks that were already the colour of the Numberblocks. If he didn’t have any, then he coloured in sticky labels and stuck them on and trimmed them to size.

I then carefully cut the sticky label, where we wanted the blocks to separate, with a kitchen knife. He added the features of the number blocks, and then stuck them down with sticky tape.

Ioan was so proud of these numbers and is now working on the ‘teens’, you can see 14 in the first picture of him.

CBeebies Numberblocks

I originally intended that the Duplo numbers 1-5 would accompany the numbers 6-10 included in the CBeebies magazine, but the size difference drove me mad as 6 was nearly twice the height of 5.

Instead we bought a second magazine and Ioan helped me finish making the numbers 6-10 for his Duplo set, above.

Once Ioan’s set was complete, Finn and I got to work on his numbers 1-5. We used the extra blocks provided by the second magazine.

If you want a quick and easy way to make a whole set with younger children, this is the way to do it. There were stickers (intended to use in activities in the magazine) that fitted on the blocks to make numbers 1-4, so Finn only had to colour, cut and stick for number 5.

We used the number 10 to make 1, 5 and 4. We used the orange and yellow blocks from number 7 as part of 2 and 3, then supplemented with the wrong coloured blocks with coloured sticky labels round the edges.

I then cut the stickers with a knife, where we wanted them to separate. Then, as before, covered them in sticky tape to stop them peeling off.

DfES Early Learning Goals (2017)

Physical development

ELG 04 – Moving and handling:

Children show good control and co-ordination in large and small movements. They handle equipment and tools effectively, including pencils for writing.