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Birthday present ideas for 5 year old obsessed with numbers?

68 replies

GlitteryFluff · 01/08/2019 12:34

Any ideas? My mind is blank.

Ds is going to be 5 in a couple of weeks. He has HF ASD and is obsessed with maths, numbers, timers/countdowns etc

He's always setting timers in my phone and wants to know exactly how many minutes things are going to take. I've ordered him a stop watch & a till with money from learning resources but I wondered if anyone had any other ideas?

Thanks!

OP posts:
GlitteryFluff · 01/08/2019 22:47

@beepbeep321

I personally would pursue a diagnosis so you find out one way or another. Having a diagnosis won't hurt. He may be coping well now but things could change and the support will already be there for him. It's helped us at school - he's been to the school nursery and then to reception. He gets taken out of class a few times each week with a couple of the other children where they work on things like social skills etc. They have a lot of extra patience with him and he's allowed to help them do certain jobs every day (because he's a stickler for rules and things being done right). They've embraced him. He's coped well so far so could have possibly done without the help however he could suddenly start struggling and I feel happier knowing the help/extra patience etc will be there if/when it's needed. Year 1 is going to be very different to reception so who knows how he copes.

I'm no expert but this is our experience of it all..

It took almost 3 years to get his diagnosis. I started when he was around 15months when I realised he should have started babbling, clapping, waving or pointing and he wasn't doing any of it. He was spinning in circles, doing weird things with his eyes, tip toe walking. He has always been a good baby/toddler/kid, he would just do his own thing, wouldn't tantrum, do anything 'naughty', slept well. He wouldn't eat wet food/food with sauces. I wasn't allowed to join in with what he was doing he wanted to do it alone. Doesn't like sudden loud noises, alarms, hand dryers, it was difficult trying to potty train him because I couldn't take him to public toilets when out as the fear of the hand dryers was too much. He has never really played or used his imagination, he just tends to sort & collect sets of things, & do puzzles or games rather than play with toys, his memory is amazing so by 3 you could tell him a mr men character and he'd tell you what number the book was in the set by memory. He knew all 50 odd mr men and 30 odd little miss by memory. Schools been too easy for him so far, well maths has, whilst the kids are learning to count and order numbers to 20, he's already doing it to 100. Same with shapes, sums etc.

He blends in with other kids on the surface, nobody has a clue he has asd. He has lots of friends at school (though also likes to have time in his own). He's well behaved. It's only when you watch closely he's different. Social skills are lacking slightly, he can't read other kids very well, though I don't know if that's normal for his age or not, he's my eldest so no experience of kids his age.

Sorry that's quite the ramble. Not sure if it's helped at all!

OP posts:
GlitteryFluff · 01/08/2019 22:49

Thank you all again. Some more fab ideas, and some mentioned lots of times. Off to research as haven't heard of some of them. Thank you.

OP posts:
SuperFurryDoggy · 01/08/2019 22:53

He sounds amazing!

How about one of those place value flip thingies If you have a binding machine you can make your own.

There’s a book DD loves that I’ll try to remember the name of too...

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

SuperFurryDoggy · 01/08/2019 22:55

It’s Amazing Visual Maths but appears to be out of print now Sad

livid1234 · 01/08/2019 22:58

Magnetiles have been brilliant for teaching times tables facts. My DS(5) counts them and groups them, now he's really good at saying things like four groups of three is twelve and fifteen shared between three is five etc.

TheWashingMachine · 01/08/2019 23:04

There is a great book called Marvellous Maths that is really super, my son got it and when my friend who is a maths teacher saw it she was super impressed. It is very accessible amd fun.

beepbeep321 · 01/08/2019 23:27

Thanks @GlitteryFluff mostof what you've said I could say about my ds. Such a tough one. I keep thinking am I just reading too much into things, is he just quirky, just really good at maths, just makes random noises, just flaps, just needs routine. Add it all together and all the 'justs' make me worry! Have fun buying presents! My ds loved a programmable mouse from bright minds as he could enter sequences of directions!

Alislia17 · 02/08/2019 04:17

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EduCated · 02/08/2019 19:15

Popped into Flying Tiger today and they had a few nice looking number bits and pieces - the tin looks like it could be good!

Birthday present ideas for 5 year old obsessed with numbers?
JanMeyer · 02/08/2019 19:52

I find it really hard to know whether or not to go for a diagnosis for my child as he is very high functioning, but does definitely have some other traits of asd. But I don't know if it's enough for a diagnosis. If that makes sense?

Don't think a diagnosis isn't necessary or won't be given because he's "very high functioning."
All high functioning in autism terms means is an autistic person with an IQ over 70, i.e no learning disability is present. High functioning doesn't mean "passes for normal/mildly autistic/needs no support" or anything like that. It refers solely to intellectual functioning, people often wrongly assume high functioning means an autistic person needs no support or functions well in everyday life.
There's no such thing as being too high functioning for a diagnosis or being "very high functioning."
High functioning is high functioning, as in every autistic person with an IQ over 70 is classed as high functioning.

theaspergian.com/2019/05/04/its-a-spectrum-doesnt-mean-what-you-think/

But to answer your question, having a diagnosis and not needing it is always better than needing one and not having it. Sometimes parents are advised to "wait and see" and they end up with a school refusing undiagnosed autistic teenager who has to join what is almost always a very long waiting list.
Obviously you don't want to think about things going wrong like that, but it's better to be prepared in case it might. And don't be put off by people who talk about not wanting to label a child. It's a diagnosis, not a label. And one which could help access any support your son might need at some point in his life.

desperatelyseekingcaffeine · 02/08/2019 20:04

What about the Bajo fraction block set? It's a lovely wooden set of fractions from whole to 12ths. I've used the blocks to demonstrate adding 2 and 3 digit numbers (just using different colours to represent different place value) as well as learning fractions. My son's had a lot of use from it.

Collectorofcookbooks · 02/08/2019 20:38

Have you seen Mobi? It’s like scrabble, but with maths. My 6 year olds love it (we took out the multiplication and divide at first)

www.amazon.co.uk/M%C3%B6bi-Numerical-Tile-Whale-Pouch/dp/B00XGW433Y/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?s=gateway&keywords=mobi+game&sprefix=mobi+&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1564774667&sr=8-3

bookwormnerd · 02/08/2019 20:41

I would agree with person saying sumblox. My 4 nearly 5 year old who has asd adores his. They are brilliant. My son also loves a hopscotch rug with numbers to jump on. The sumblox are a firm favourite as he can line them up and build with them. He also likes doing his time tables with theem

HollowTalk · 02/08/2019 20:43

Does he like playing cards?

WellLetsSayHesSquare · 03/08/2019 11:30

We got our boy some number things from eBay. They are plastic and transform into dinosaurs. He is obsessed with them. I'll try and find a link.

Leapfrog123 · 03/08/2019 11:40

@GlitteryFluff I just wanted to say that it sounds like we have a really similar child! DS is a bit younger (3.5), but similar to yours in many ways. Lots of numbers round here; the biggest win has been a scientific calculator. DS gets it as his ‘toilet treat’, so he gets lots of time to play with it on the loo! I can’t explain what most of the functions mean, but he finds it fascinating anyway Smile

GreenTulips · 03/08/2019 11:44

Numicon is better than the blocks

Have you got a Dobble game? They do a number version

Noteventhebestdrummer · 03/08/2019 12:09

I had one of these as a (weirdly obsessive) kid and it was the best present ever

HMF 4710-05 EURO Coin Sorter Counter 24 x 5 x 12 cm , blue https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001UK6EH2/ref=cmswwrcppapiii_eTwrDb21EKH1H

Noteventhebestdrummer · 03/08/2019 12:11

But this is cheaper and for UK coins

The Source Wholesale Digital Coin Counter and Sorter https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07956JM8T/ref=cmswwrcppapiii_LUwrDb6TZ10VS

Isabeau1980 · 03/08/2019 14:36

My friend has Numicon for her kids and they love them.

I have the Numberblocks DVDs for my DS. Might be a little young for yours though, DS is almost 4.

Fresh01 · 03/08/2019 14:54

Rummikub - it has number tiles. Think it is for a bit older child but my youngest has played it from 5.

Top Trumps cards?

Bingo with the wheel that you turn to get the number ball out.

ColdAndSad · 03/08/2019 17:30

I have a son who by three years old loved his numbers. I was a maths girl at school so was so pleased. I bought him all sorts of books, gadgets and toys related to maths, and now he is a mathematician and coder, with a masters degree and everything.

One thing he loved very early on was his Rubik's cube. I bought him one which came with a booklet on how to solve it and he spent a few weeks working it out, and even now can solve the cube in a few minutes. He has also very much enjoyed learning card tricks, and learning how to play poker (never play poker with him!). But that is a bit old for your son, I think.

He loved toys that involved putting things together. So Playmobil, then Meccano as he got older. He had lots of marble run toys. Lots of puzzles.

It's a wonderful skill to have, and wonderful to watch your children grow and learn. You have exciting times ahead of you, I think.

GlitteryFluff · 04/08/2019 14:45

Thank you all so much, have ordered him quite a few bits. Have also screen shotted this (do chat threads still delete after 90days?) to refer back to at Christmas.

OP posts:
BringOnTheScience · 04/08/2019 14:51

How about dice? The sets that D&D players use with d4, d6, d10, d12 & d20. Amazon have many multi-sets in funky colours.

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