Hands-on math becomes more meaningful when children can see, touch, and arrange numbers on their own. In this engaging classroom activity, our young learners worked with dominoes to match and represent numbers in different ways. Children first placed the dominoes according to the given number, carefully counting the dots and ensuring that the correct quantity was defined. As they worked, they began to notice that the same number can be shown in many different combinations — a wonderful introduction to number decomposition.
For instance, while exploring the number 4, the children eagerly shared their findings:
- “2 and 2 make 4”
- “3 and 1 also make 4”
Through these discoveries, they learned that numbers are flexible—not fixed to a single form—and can be broken apart and rebuilt in different ways. The domino patterns helped them visually understand how smaller parts come together to make a whole, strengthening their early addition skills and number sense. As they experimented with various combinations, our little mathematicians began to see numbers from an exciting new perspective.
