More, Fewer or the Same

🏠 Do together

1. A spoon for each cup

   You need: Up to five unbreakable cups and five large spoons

   Put out three cups and four spoons. Ask your child to place one spoon beside each cup. Notice the spare spoon: there are more spoons and fewer cups. Change the groups, sometimes making them equal. Count to check.

2. Long row, short row

   You need: Eight socks

   Make two rows of four socks, with each sock facing a partner. Spread one row out without adding anything. Ask whether either row now has more. Let your child pair and count again to check that both still have four.

3. Make the groups match

   You need: Up to ten large paper squares and two sheets of paper

   Tear the squares yourself. Put two on one sheet and four on the other. Count each group together. Ask your child to make the groups equal by moving or removing squares. Repeat with other small totals and ask how they checked.

💬 Talk about it

• Which group has fewer, and how can we check?
• Did spreading the socks out change how many there are?
• What could we change to make these groups equal?

🔤 Words to use

• more
• fewer
• same
• equal
• pair
• count