Let’s face it – snack time is sacred, as it often brings calm and good humour to children and parentsin.
But what if I told you it’s also a brain-boosting opportunity hiding in plain sight?
In today’s Fables World video, I’m slicing up a banana and using it to sneak a little mathematics into your child’s day. As the children chop (use age appropriate knives!), they count. First forwards, then backwards. It’s simple, it’s fun, and it works wonders for developing number sense and decsteriy.
Why is counting backwards so powerful? Counting forwards is like walking – useful, familiar, safe. Counting backwards, however, is more like dancing backwards in roller skates… it forces the brain to stay alert. It strengthens mental arithmetic, improves number awareness, and builds the kind of cognitive flexibility that helps with subtraction, problem-solving, and understanding number patterns.
Younger children can start small (1–5 or 1–10), while older children can challenge themselves with higher numbers (like counting down from 50… or even 100 if they dare). Bonus points for dramatic countdown voices. NASA-style optional.
This mini-activity is perfect when:
- You’re prepping snacks anyway (they can always count raisins, nuts, blueberries, apples, melon anything you like that can be cut into lots of bits or there is many of them)
- Your child’s finding it hard to concentrate on maths in traditional ways.
- You want to boost brain power without a worksheet in sight
Give it a go and let me know how it goes – or better yet, film your child’s version , we love all comedy efforts and send it over!