What is a number wheel?

A number wheel is an educational tool used to help teach children about numbers and basic mathematics. It is a round wheel that contains all of the numerals from 0 to 9 along its circumference. The wheel can be spun and, when it stops, provides the child with a random number from which to start their calculations. The wheel can be used in a variety of maths-based games to improve a child's understanding and skills in relation to basic arithmetic as well as visual counting principles.

Number wheels are most commonly found in pre-school classrooms but can also be purchased from specialised educational stores and online retailers. In addition, they can often be made at home with simple crafting materials such as cardboard and paper or even empty wine bottle lids or buttons. To make the number wheel at home, you will need to have some direction provided under guidance usually by your local school teacher.

One instance where a number wheel can be used is in the popular game 'Race to 100'. To play this game each person takes turns spinning the number wheel and depending on what number they get selected they will move up or down the race track according to that number. This game is not only fun, but reinforces basic counting principles as well as early maths operations such as addition, subtraction and multiplication which helps develop children's maths ability from an early age.