Support your students in building strong number sense and fine motor skills with the hands-on and engaging Subitising Cupcakes 1–5: Play Dough Mats. Designed to target subitising skills in a playful and meaningful way, this resource offers an exciting sensory-based learning experience that blends early numeracy with fine motor development.

Young learners will practise subitising numbers from 1 to 5 using colourful cupcake mats and small number cards. With each mat, they create the correct number of play dough ‘sprinkles’ to match the value shown, encouraging quick number recognition and tactile engagement. The repeated rolling, pinching, and shaping of dough not only reinforces number sense but also strengthens the small muscles in the hands and fingers – essential for pencil control, scissor use, and other everyday tasks.

The Subitising Cupcakes 1–5: Play Dough Mats resource promotes bilateral coordination and hand-eye control as students use both hands to form and place the sprinkles. Ideal for Foundation and Year 1 classrooms, this versatile resource supports visual, kinaesthetic, and tactile learners. With high and low colour print options and multiple activity components, it's perfect for individual, pair, or small group work.

Key Learning Outcomes:

• ✅ Subitise and recognise numbers from 1 to 5 in different formats
• ✅ Build fine motor strength and coordination through play dough manipulation
• ✅ Match numbers to quantities in a hands-on, engaging way
• ✅ Develop bilateral hand use, finger isolation, and pincer grip
• ✅ Strengthen number-to-quantity understanding through visual and tactile representation

What’s Included:

• Cupcake mats in high and low colour versions
• Number cards to prompt number identification
• Student recording sheet to track responses

Materials Needed:

• Play dough (various colours for student engagement)
• Printed cupcake mats (laminated or in write and wipe sleeves)
• Printed and cut number cards (preferably on card for durability)
• Student recording sheets (printed one per learner)
• Optional: buttons, pom-poms, or small counters as alternatives to play dough

How to Use:

1. Print the cupcake mats and number cards using your preferred colour option. Place mats into write and wipe sleeves for reuse.
2. Cut out and shuffle the number cards, then place them face down in a pile.
3. Students draw a number card and identify the number shown.
4. Using play dough, they roll and pinch small balls to represent the correct number of sprinkles and place them on the cupcake mat.
5. Once complete, students record the number and quantity on the recording sheet provided.
6. Repeat the process for additional practice or rotate through different number cards.

Ideas for Classroom Use:

• 💡 Add to your fine motor rotations or early numeracy centres.
• 💡 Use during morning table tasks or calm-down times to blend sensory and academic learning.
• 💡 Incorporate into small group interventions targeting number recognition and subitising.
• 💡 Pair with counting songs or finger rhymes for added engagement.
• 💡 Provide multiple copies to encourage peer collaboration or co-play.

Top Teacher Tips:

• 💛 Laminate all components or store in plastic pouches for repeated, year-round use.
• 💛 Offer alternative manipulatives like buttons or glass gems for a change of texture or when play dough is unavailable.
• 💛 Introduce numbers gradually, starting with 1–3 before expanding to 1–5.
• 💛 Encourage students to verbalise the number as they work to reinforce oral language connections.
• 💛 Add visual supports like number lines or classroom posters for extra scaffolding where needed.

Perfect for combining foundational maths and motor skills, the Subitising Cupcakes 1–5: Play Dough Mats offers a fun, interactive, and sensory-rich way to help students gain confidence in recognising and representing numbers.