Introducing... Number Rumbler!
Number Rumbler is a brain-fizzing, fun
game for families - anyone from 6 to adult can join in. When you play it you'll be having fun, practising your times tables, and developing number sense - all at the same time.
Number Rumbler was developed by
family maths charity Maths on Toast. We're really proud of Number Rumbler
and we want to get more people playing it! Thing is, to charge anything like a
reasonable price, we need to print thousands of packs. By buying a pack in advance, you'll not only get your own copy, you'll help us get Number
Rumbler to everyone!
What's Number Sense and how does Number Rumbler help?
Number sense is what it sounds like: a sense for numbers. Learning
multiplication tables is all about number facts: 2 x 5 is 10, for example.
Number sense is deeper, more fun and more valuable. It's about understanding
how numbers relate to each other more broadly.
Number Rumbler consists of a pack of cards with numbers written - and drawn - in different ways. For example, 12 could be 4+4+4 or 3x4 or drawn out as twelve dots. By playing with the cards, you'll get a better sense of how the numbers relate to one another - and because of that understanding, you'll be more flexible with numbers and more fluent when you're calculating and estimating.
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How to Play
You can play noisy or quiet games
with Number Rumbler - it's up to you. A great way to start is simply to sort the cards into families - all the 12s, all the 10s, and so on. You might also want to take out some of the cards if you're playing with younger children - the blue division cards, and the green cards with words on.
Then you can get on to more advanced Number Rumbler games!
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What people say
"[Number Rumbler] was really fun" -
child's comment
"I enjoyed it" - child's comment
"Where can I buy this game?" - parent's comment
"This
is a fun game for all the family which can be used in a number of
different ways ... The cards show quantities as
calculations as well as dot arrays and this helps children to see
relationships between the different representations
and thus improve their number sense. A very simple but effective idea!" Margaret Haseler, Primary Lead Consultant, National Numeracy
"At last a number game for children to play
with friends and family that really supports them to develop their number
sense - and practice some important number facts along the way.. There’s
no better way to learn and practice those times tables!"
Dr Alison Clark-Wilson, Research Fellow, UCL Institute of Education, and Trustee, Maths on Toast
“Making maths fun for children........that certainly happened at
The Winch during this project! It is a fantastic idea and has opened the door
to children who, not only like maths, but also those who find it challenging.
Maths on Toast has been a great organisation to partner with, if you’re interested
in making maths fun for children, please support their crowdfunding campaign!” Kim Mabbutt, Play Development Officer, The Winch
"In these troubled times what
the world needs is more numbers. And it
seems to me that multiplication is the best way to get them." Dr
Paul Wilmott, Financial Mathematician, Lecturer, and Founding Trustee, Maths on
Toast
What We Need & What You Get
We need £7000. That's based on a print run, a trademark, and
the postage to get all those cards to you. You have a choice of many rewards! For increasing amounts, you can have a
pack of Number Rumbler, a badge to wear when you win, a meetup with Alison Clark-Wilson to learn about Number Sense ... all the way to your own personalised
pack or dinner and a game with celebrated mathematician Hannah Fry. Feeling political? We'll send
some cards to the Education Select Committee for you. Or maybe you're feeling
philanthropic! If so you can send a set of cards to a local school.
The Impact
There are two
reasons this game is important. First of all, it makes playing with numbers
into a fun family game, with obvious educational benefits.
It's also important for our organisation, Maths on Toast. We are a tiny
charity, started very recently, that's here to make maths family fun. All
profits from the cards go back into helping us make more fun family maths
resources. So even beyond our target, the more you pledge, the more we'll be
able to do to make maths family and community fun. In fact, we believe that if we can get this initial funding, then we'll be able to sell many more packs of Number Rumbler - and it will generate income that makes our organisation sustainable long-term. That means more fun, family maths activities for everyone.
Some More Backstory
We developed this game by working with real children and
parents in the London Borough of Camden. Thanks to their input, this game is
much better than it would have been otherwise. So thanks are due to the team at
the Winch and at Pancras Square Library - and also to John Lyon's Charity for
funding the early development of the game.
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Risks & Challenges
The design may improve as a result of feedback during the
campaign. There's a small chance the name may change. If we are massively
successful, we may get overwhelmed and fail to meet our deadline. But that
would be a nice problem to have.
Other Ways You Can Help
The maths of crowdfunding is crazy. One in twenty people who
see this page will pledge - though the average is apparently a generous £50.
That means we need to reach over 3000 people to achieve our goal. We're small and
new and we don't have that many friends yet. Please share! The best way to do
that is to post a link on Facebook, or send an email with a link to a couple of
friends you think might be interested. Thank you :)
If you'd like to do some more systematic sharing, you can join our bevy of 'microvolunteers' through this link.
And if you're interested in selling or distributing the game once we've reached our target, please get in touch.
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