About this deal
Everything about a Ten Town character relates to their number, so Fiona Five, the Paralympic athlete, eats five portions of fruit and eg every day, and Nina Nine, the builder, has nine tools in her tool box. So your child might like to set the table for King One with one knife, one fork and so on, or they could pair up socks, like Tommy Two!
One of the reasons it has really worked in our school is that Ten Town isn’t just about learning number formation and early counting, it has also developed the children’s understanding of number value and how to apply their knowledge in practical situations. Children learn a new concept faster if it appeals to their imagination and creates a picture in their minds. With my pupils’ help, I created the world of Ten Town, with each character having a story that helps children remember how the number is formed as well as understanding its value. Ten Town is not a prescriptive scheme that requires practitioners to follow a rigid plan but gives you the resources to opportunity to create memory learning experience for your children.This helps children to develop an understanding of the value of each number and can also be applied to everyday activities. Here are just a few examples and if you decide to join our ever-growing community, please get in touch and let us know about how you use Ten Town in your own school or nursery. We have been expanding our 0 to 10 resources in light of the new Development Matters document and the revised EYFS framework. There are also a number of options to access the online activities at home, including stories, songs and games.
For example, Thelma Three can be used to explore personal, social and emotional development, Freddie Four can help develop an understanding of the world, while Fiona Five can form part of physical development activities. Then take a tour around Ten Town TV studios to find out about numbers to 20 and see how each episode links to a different maths topic.Ten Town is an award-winning numeracy resource designed by former Reception Class teacher Rebecca Sandy. The key feature of Ten Town is that it gives children a reason why each number is formed in a particular way. Numbers are really just abstract shapes, and this can often lead to number reversal — writing numbers back to front. There were children that we weren’t expecting to achieve the Early Learning Goal for Maths and they did, and that was definitely through Ten Town.
King One is in charge of Ten Town, and all the other characters either face towards King One or away from him. One of the most enjoyable parts of my work is seeing the ingenious ways practitioners have applied Ten Town in their own settings. I would say they have a much broader understanding of the concept of numerals and what each number represents in terms of quantity and as a tool to group things. When a character’s story is combined with their rhyme, this helps improve number formation and reduces number reversal.Ten Town has helped engage the children and capture their imagination and then the maths learning has just flowed. Everything about a Ten Town character relates to their number, so Fiona Five, a Paralympic athlete, eats five portions of fruit and vegetables every day, and Sir Seven, a knight, looks after seven horses. The best way for children to consolidate their learning is by applying their mathematical knowledge in practical situations.
Finally, when they have completed all the numbers on the map, their animal avatar is rewarded with a hat of their choice!The characters also develop an understanding of number value as well as offering many cross curricular learning opportunities. From small beginnings, when it consisted of just of a few printed materials, packed on my kitchen table, Ten Town is now a multimedia resources that has been used in over 3000 schools and nurseries in the UK and across the world. For example, Freddie Four, the explorer, faces away from King One when he goes on adventures to new places. Children will love to explore the island of Ten Town, where they will find all their favourite characters alongside their homes. King One is in charge of Ten Town, and all the other characters have a reason why they face or away from him.