Grimm’s 5 Math Friends

The Grimm's 5 Math Friends are five wooden peg dolls in a wooden frame, each one hand painted to represent a basic maths symbol: plus, minus, divide, multiply and equals. They give children a tactile, hands on way to explore the core maths processes, using figures they can pick up, move and arrange.

The peg dolls are made from alder and maple wood and finished with a non toxic water based colour stain and a non toxic plant based oil finish. Each figure is hand painted, so small differences between pieces are normal and give every doll its own character rather than signalling a fault.

Grimm's give an age group of 5 years and up. This suits children who are starting to work with the basic maths operations and benefit from a physical, movable symbol they can place beside blocks, counters or other loose parts while they figure out a sum.

The five symbols can be combined with almost any loose part, block or everyday object at home to show how addition, subtraction, division, multiplication and equality work. Laying out real objects either side of a symbol turns an abstract sum into something a child can see, touch and rearrange until it makes sense.

Grimm's suggest pairing the Math Friends with Stepped Counting Blocks and counting with colours sets to extend the range of maths you can demonstrate. Any Grimm's balls, blocks or peg dolls can act as countable objects. Browse more options in our Grimm's collection.

The wooden frame measures about 10 cm long. Each peg doll stands roughly 6 cm high with a diameter of about 3 cm, a size that sits easily in a child's hand while they arrange the symbols alongside counters and blocks during a maths activity.