Cafe Maths – maths life

These are quick maths activities. We think of these as Cafe Maths because you can do them with your children with very few resources.

With these ideas, those few minutes waiting for food or drink can become a perfect maths-moment!

Years 1 and 2

Here a number puzzle that can be made as easy or as difficult as you wish. You only need a[...]

You say to your child:"If the answer is 10, what could the question be?"What would they say in reply?5 x[...]

This is a thoughtful activity for those those odd moments (maybe when you need a cup of coffee) and want[...]

No Guessing AllowedRead these statements to your child, each set describes a specific number.Can they work out what the number[...]

This is a quick numbers gameYou need a paper and pencilWrite the numbers 0 to 12 on a piece of[...]

This is a fun two-person gameYou need a pencil and paper and two diceTo start, you each draw four boxes[...]

Here are five number puzzles Each puzzle below has a series of clues to a mystery number. Can work out[...]

This is an entertaining way to practice times tables facts Lets play Buzz To play the game you choose a[...]

This is an interesting number game that focuses on division You need a dice, a pencil and some paper To[...]

You need a paper and pencil Write any long word - we used words like 'photograph', 'television' or 'dinosaur'. Then,[...]

This is a very useful way to explore how calculations are affected by the order of operations. You need a[...]

This is a useful activity involving pocket money You need a pen and paper If your child regularly earns pocket[...]

Here is your mission You need a calculator Enter the number 999 into your calculator Now, you can use any[...]

This is an investigation using numbers You need a pencil and some paper to jot down your calculations First, choose[...]

This game could have been called “250 or Bust!” because 250 is the target. You will need a coin, two[...]