I hated maths at school, but could a box of magnetic cubes change everything for my son?

Gifted product review: We received the Geomag Magicube Maths Builder Set free of charge for review. The opinions and experiences described are our own.

I can still remember how anxious I felt during maths lessons at school. I was never confident with numbers, and the atmosphere in the classroom did little to help.

My recollection is of a teacher who frequently raised her voice, which I found intimidating. Whether other pupils experienced those lessons in the same way, I couldn’t say, but I struggled. I remember sitting at my desk, hoping I wouldn’t be asked to answer a question. Even when I thought I knew the answer, I worried about getting it wrong in front of everyone.

I became so preoccupied with making mistakes that I sometimes found it difficult to concentrate on what was being taught. Numbers that might have made sense five minutes earlier suddenly seemed incomprehensible, and I spent more time worrying about being called upon than trying to understand the lesson.

Looking back, I wonder whether I was genuinely poor at maths or whether anxiety played a part in my difficulties. I can’t answer that now, but I know those experiences affected my confidence for years afterwards.

More than four decades later, I still prefer words to numbers. Give me a complicated paragraph to untangle, and I’ll happily spend an afternoon moving commas around. Ask me to calculate a percentage without a calculator, and I’ll probably develop an urgent need to put the kettle on.

When Cyrus came along, I wanted him to approach numbers with more confidence than I remembered having at his age. I didn’t expect him to enjoy every lesson or find every calculation easy, but I hoped he would feel comfortable asking questions and making mistakes.

When the pandemic arrived, our living room became a combination of classroom, office, playroom and snack bar. Like thousands of other parents, I found myself trying to keep a young child entertained and educated while wondering how teachers managed a classroom without losing their minds.

Cyrus was still little, and thankfully his educational needs didn’t extend to algebra or long division. We were dealing with counting, recognising numbers, identifying shapes and understanding simple sequences. Nevertheless, I was determined that his first experiences of maths would be happier than mine.

I wanted him to ask questions, experiment and work things out at his own pace. If he got something wrong, we could try again. Nobody needed to raise their voice, and there wasn’t going to be any public humiliation over the number seven.

Of course, children have their own ideas about how a lesson should proceed. Cyrus could be enthusiastic about counting one minute and completely absorbed in something else the next. A carefully planned activity could last five minutes before he decided that building a tower or investigating the contents of a cupboard was infinitely more interesting.

I quickly discovered that trying to recreate a traditional classroom at home wasn’t that successful. What worked better was finding ways to weave learning into the things he already enjoyed. And that’s where a box of magnetic cubes came in handy.

We were sent the Geomag Magicube Maths Builder Set to review during the homeschooling period, and I was immediately drawn to its simplicity. There was no electronic voice congratulating you for pressing the correct button, just brightly coloured magnetic cubes and a collection of numbers and mathematical symbols.

The Swiss-made set contains 10 magnetic cubes and 45 maths-themed clips, designed to introduce young children to numbers and their first calculations. The clever part is that the cubes connect magnetically on all six sides, so children can join them together in different directions without having to line up specific edges.

Anyone who has watched a small child become furious with a construction toy that refuses to cooperate will appreciate the advantage. The cubes snap together easily, and the number and symbol clips can be attached to create simple sums. Children can arrange the pieces to explore counting, addition and subtraction, while also using the cubes for construction play.

What I liked was that it looked like a toy rather than an educational obligation. There were no intimidating worksheets or complicated instructions. Cyrus could pick up the cubes, join them together and start experimenting without needing me to explain what he was supposed to achieve. Given my own history with maths, that suited me.

The first thing that appealed to Cyrus was the building element. The cubes could be joined together to make towers, little walls and whatever else he happened to imagine. Because they connected magnetically, he could rearrange them without becoming frustrated by pieces that wouldn’t fit.

I found myself enjoying the construction side, too. I found the magnetic blocks strangely satisfying, especially how they snapped together. I suspect I spent rather longer playing with them than was strictly necessary for parental supervision.

Once we’d explored the building possibilities, we began introducing the number clips. We could arrange the cubes in a row, count them together and match the quantities with the appropriate numbers. We could also use the mathematical symbols to demonstrate simple sums.

Instead of looking at an abstract calculation on a sheet of paper, Cyrus could see what the numbers represented. If we had two cubes and added another, he could count the three cubes sitting in front of him. If we removed one, he could see what was left.

It sounds obvious, but I think adults sometimes forget how unfamiliar numbers can be to young children. We take it for granted that a written symbol represents a quantity, yet that connection has to be learned. Being able to pick up the cubes and move them around gave us something practical to work with.

Naturally, not every activity went according to my educational intentions. Sometimes the carefully arranged numbers were abandoned in favour of building something unrelated. I didn’t mind. He was interested, using his hands and thinking about how the pieces fitted together. And if a maths activity turned into a construction project, I was quite happy to call that a successful morning.

Watching Cyrus play with the cubes made me think about how differently children can experience the same subject. For me, maths had always been associated with getting the correct answer as quickly as possible. There was little room for hesitation or asking somebody to explain something again. At least, that’s how I remember it.

Yet here was Cyrus, happily rearranging numbers, making mistakes and starting again without the slightest embarrassment. He wasn’t worried about looking foolish or comparing himself with anybody else. He was just trying things out to see what happened.

It also made me more conscious of the things I said about my own abilities. I’ve spent years joking that I’m hopeless at maths, usually whenever somebody asks me to work something out without a calculator. But children absorb these casual remarks, and I didn’t want Cyrus growing up believing that mathematical ability was something you either possessed or didn’t.

Perhaps I wasn’t hopeless at maths after all. I was just a frightened little girl who needed a more patient approach. It’s an uncomfortable thought, because it makes you wonder how many adults still carry memories of struggling at school.

National Maths Week, which took place from 8 to 12 November in 2021, encouraged families and schools to explore ways of making mathematics more enjoyable and accessible. It’s a worthwhile idea, especially when you consider how much maths children encounter outside the classroom.

We count the stairs as we climb them, divide food into portions, compare the sizes of objects and work out how many minutes remain before bedtime. A trip to the supermarket involves numbers, weights, prices and quantities, although I suspect most children are more interested in what they can persuade you to put in the trolley.

Even baking provides opportunities to talk about measurements and proportions. Admittedly, cooking with a young child can involve more flour on the floor than in the mixing bowl, but at least they’re learning something along the way.

There are plenty of ways to introduce numbers into everyday family life without buying specialist toys. Counting stairs, sorting socks, sharing fruit and measuring ingredients can all provide opportunities to explore basic mathematical ideas. The Geomag cubes offered us another way to do this when Cyrus wanted something he could build and rearrange himself.

I liked having something physical that Cyrus and I could play with together. We could spend a few minutes counting and arranging numbers without making a great production of it. When he’d had enough, we could put everything away and do something else. There was no need to turn every activity into a test.

Although the Maths Builder Set is designed to introduce early calculation skills, the cubes have uses beyond recognising numbers and creating simple sums. Because they connect on all six sides, children can experiment with building structures in different directions. This introduces opportunities to explore shapes, balance and spatial relationships while thinking about how objects fit together.

I liked that the cubes could be used for ordinary play, particularly because young children don’t always want to follow instructions. Sometimes Cyrus wanted to count. Sometimes he wanted to build. And sometimes he simply wanted to knock everything down and begin again.

That flexibility gave the set more appeal than a toy with only one activity. It’s also a screen-free option, which was particularly welcome during lockdown. With so much of family life taking place indoors, I was pleased to find something that didn’t involve another device or require me to download an app.

The cubes were compact enough to bring out for a short activity and easy to put away afterwards, although the smaller number clips did require a little attention when tidying up.

I would point out that this is a relatively small construction set. Ten cubes are perfectly adequate for demonstrating early calculations and making simple structures, but children hoping to build enormous towers or elaborate buildings may find themselves wanting more pieces. For younger children beginning to explore numbers, however, I think the combination of maths and construction works well.

I would recommend the Geomag Magicube Maths Builder Set to parents looking for a hands-on introduction to early numeracy if their child enjoys building toys.

The 10 magnetic cubes and 45 number and symbol clips offer opportunities to practise counting, recognise numbers and explore simple addition and subtraction. The magnetic design makes the pieces easy to connect and rearrange, allowing children to experiment without constantly needing an adult to help.

It isn’t a comprehensive maths teaching programme and doesn’t replace patient explanations and regular practice. Children who are already confident with early calculations may also find the activities too basic. But I don’t think that diminishes its usefulness. Its appeal lies in making numbers approachable and giving children something they can physically handle while learning.

★★★★★ | 5/5, based on our family experience

I enjoyed using the Geomag Magicube Maths Builder Set with Cyrus during a period when we were spending so much time at home. The cubes were easy to connect, the number clips gave us opportunities to practise simple counting and the construction element meant that he could continue playing long after we’d finished our little maths activities.

The set has its limitations. With only 10 cubes, children who enjoy building larger structures may want additional pieces, and those already confident with early calculations may find the activities too basic. Nevertheless, I thought it worked well as an introduction to numbers for a young child who enjoyed construction toys.

For me, the experience also brought back memories of my own schooldays. I couldn’t help comparing the relaxed atmosphere of playing with Cyrus on the living room carpet with the anxiety I remembered from maths lessons. Of course, playing with magnetic cubes is rather different from sitting an examination, but it reminded me how much I valued being able to explore something without worrying about getting it wrong.

I still reach for a calculator more often than I’d care to admit, and I doubt I’ll ever develop a great passion for fractions. But I hope Cyrus grows up feeling that maths is something he can work at, rather than something he should fear.

And if his earliest memories of numbers involve colourful cubes, building towers and his mother occasionally getting her sums wrong, I can live with that.

Have you found yourself approaching your children’s education differently because of your own schooldays? I’d love to hear your experiences.

Occasional stories, experiments, discoveries and questions from Saffron & Cyrus.

Disclosure: The Geomag Magicube Maths Builder Set was gifted for review. This article reflects our own experience during the 2021 homeschooling period. Product specifications and availability should be checked with the manufacturer before purchase.

No spam. Just stories, discoveries and the occasional big question. You can unsubscribe whenever you like.