The children in Reception are developing their skills in subitising - recognizing small numbers without counting. Subitising encourages the children to see small amounts efficiently (perceptual subitising) and to see "numbers within" other numbers (conceptual subitising). These skills will support the children in developing their understanding of the composition of numbers.

In the past few weeks the children have been taught to subitise beads on a rekenrek. They learned to orient their rekenreks correctly, and push quantities of beads smoothly and with one finger. Learning how to subitise on a rekenrek will support the children with greater fluency with calculation as they continue their maths journey in Year One.