Who says math has to be done quietly at a desk? With this 100-Number Sensory Pop It, you can calculate, move, fidget, and discover all at once!

The 100-Number Sensory Pop It from Learning Resources is much more than just a fun pop-it with numbers. The board invites children to count, search, discover patterns, and calculate. And in the meantime, their fingers are, of course, getting plenty of work to do.

I have collected 10 ideas to get started with it at home, in the classroom, or during therapy.

1. Pop them all!

Start off nice and simple. Let the child find and press the numbers from 1 to 100 one by one.

You can count together or let the child explore independently. For young children, it is already a great exercise in number recognition, counting, and finger motor skills.

2. Where is my number?

Call out a number and have the child find it as quickly as possible.

Make it a little harder afterwards:
“Can you find 36? And what number is immediately before it?”

This way, you combine number recognition, attention, and spatial orientation.

3. Add ten, subtract ten

Choose a number, for example 24. Let the child press 24 first and then look for 10 more.

“Where do you end up if you add 10?”
“And what happens if you go back 10?”

A simple way to let children discover the 100-square and number structure.

4. Find the jumps

Have the child press only the even numbers. Afterwards, you can do the same with multiples of 5 or 10.

Can you discover what pattern emerges?

With this, you practice skip counting, number patterns, and multiples, but the child mainly experiences: searching, finding, and popping!

5. Guess the next number

Pop, for example, 12, 22, 32, and 42. Stop afterwards and ask:

“Which number do you think comes next?”

This is a fun exercise for pattern recognition, logical thinking, and predicting.

6. Calculating with your fingers

Use the board to visualize a simple sum.

For example:
4 + 3 = ?

Let the child press four bubbles and then three more. How many are there in total?

For older children, you can expand this to multiplication. For example, create groups of 3 × 4 and let the child discover the structure on the 10x10 grid.

7. Flip it over!

The back of the Pop It has an empty 10x10 grid. Ideal for creating your own patterns, shapes, and groups.

For example, create a square, rectangle, or a pattern and let the child recreate it.

Here, visual perception, spatial insight, fine motor skills, and problem-solving thinking come together.

8. Listen, remember, and pop!

Give two or three numbers in a row.

“Pop 17 first, then 35, and finally 42.”

Can you remember them in the correct order?

A simple activity that, in addition to number recognition, also targets working memory, attention, and impulse control.

9. Who finds it fastest?

Give an instruction:

“Find a number between 40 and 50 that ends in 5.”

Or:

“Find a number that is 10 more than 27.”

You can do this alone or turn it into a small game with two children. It doesn't have to be about speed; the searching and thinking are what’s valuable.

10. Just for fun

And sometimes, there doesn't have to be a math assignment involved at all.

Just let a child pop, feel, and listen. Repeatedly pressing the bubbles provides a tactile and auditory stimulus while simultaneously requiring finger movement.

That makes this Pop It also interesting as a sensory fidget activity between other tasks.

From math to motor skills

What I like so much about this 100-Number Sensory Pop It is that math and motor skills come together very naturally here. A child looks, searches, remembers, makes a choice, and then moves a finger purposefully to the right spot.

In this way, you practice finger motor skills, eye-hand coordination, concentration, working memory, and number sense during a single activity.

And perhaps most importantly: it doesn't have to feel like practicing at all. Just enjoy popping, discovering, and learning a little more all the while. That is exactly the power of learning through play.