Beautifully tactile, chunky bears made from quality moulded hard plastic. Each has identical embossed fur, paw & facial details, rather cute! Three sizes; Large, Medium & Small. Six vibrant colours; Red, Blue, Yellow, Purple, Green & Orange. Three weights; Large 12 g, Medium 8 g, Small 4 g. CE Learning Resources guide sheet included. Total 96 bears comprising of: Large 24 bears ( 4 each colour ) Height approx just under 4 cm 1 ½ “ Medium 24 bears ( 4 each colour ) Height approx just under 3.5 cm 1 ¼ “ Small 48 bears ( 8 each colour ) Height approx just over 2.5 cm 1 “ All bears are in the sitting position, so easy to use & position. Small bears have a small circular indentation on the base. Medium bears, a small circular hole & large bears have a large circular hole, as though a pencil topper. These aren't toppers, I guess this is for the correct weight of plastic. They all live happily in the tub when not getting up to mischief. The clear tub plastic is brittle. Flexible lid plastic pushes over the tub, giving a snug and secure fit. From the guide sheet... “ Three Bear Family Counters are perfect for helping young children act out and understand abstract math concepts. These adorable counters are also great for imaginative play! “... “ Activities focus on these number concepts; Sorting, comparing sets, addition, counting, estimating, subtraction, visual memory, patterning and sequencing “... The guide sheet gives a brief synopsis for the following activities... “ Sorting by Colour and Size, A Colour Parade, Counting, Zoo Bears, Counting Game, Estimating, Visual Memory, Sequencing, Number Stories and Zero Bears “. Initially I handed the bucket full over to my little one, 2 ½ yrs, with me. Shrieks of laughter followed from the first look & joy handling them to positioning them in lines & sorting into colours. These make a satisfying sound all mixed together in a large bowl, they feel wonderful too. We have used our bears in a variety of ways over the years, both inside & out, from informal exploratory, imaginative play, through to formal math sessions. Sometimes we used their bucket balance scales, which we recommend too. They have been put into random containers & little bags, giving capacity experience, hidden in sand with glitter & shaving foam; great to feel the sizes asked for & splashed in coloured water. They have been printed with, leading to matching the bear to the same colour & pattern sequencing. Sorted into colour, size & weight sets. They have helped with addition, subtraction, division, multiplication, memory games, estimating & find the bear. They have been used as ingredients in the play kitchen & in muddy witchy brews too, not one complained! Imagination & language flourished as wonderful stories were told through these bears, in their own right & with other toys. They proved useful with preposition understanding too, the bear is on, under etc. These little bears have certainly played their part, adding to real life numeracy & literacy experiences. Also ours have proved over the years, enduring pretty intense play... to be indestructible! These are definitely keepers; hopefully grandchildren will create their own magic one day.
