Where maths begins with wonder
A warm, play-based introduction to numbers for children aged 3 to 6, built on curiosity, confidence and a child-friendly abacus.
Pibbly is an early childhood numeracy program designed for children aged 3 to 6, running in early learning services across Brisbane and South East Queensland. Using a single-rod soroban, children learn to see, touch and move numbers in a concrete way before moving toward mental maths concepts later on.
Sessions run weekly during the centre day, in small groups of up to eight children. Thirty minutes for ages 3 to 5, and forty-five minutes for age 6.
Our sessions are playful, relaxed and hands-on. Children explore number recognition, counting, quantity, simple addition, taking away, patterns and mathematical language through short, age-appropriate activities.
Pibbly is designed to complement early childhood learning environments and is inspired by play-based approaches used in early childhood education, including the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) and the Queensland Kindergarten Learning Guideline (QKLG).
I taught secondary maths. Every year I met bright fifteen-year-olds who had decided, somewhere around year three, that they were not a maths person. Almost none of them were right about that. They had just never been given a way to see what a number was before someone asked them to manipulate one.
Pibbly is the thing I wish they had had at three.
So I built it to bring that quiet, playful number discovery into the places little ones already feel at home, their early learning centre or kindy. Every session is led by me, in person, within your centre’s own routines and supervision.
Registered with the Queensland College of Teachers and a current Blue Card holder.I’m always happy to share verification with centres and families before we begin.
Karin Jordaan
What happens in a Pibbly session?
About thirty unhurried minutes: short, playful and calm, in four parts.
- 1
A warm welcome
Children gather on the mat for a calm, familiar start: a hello song and a quick look at today's pebble or bead idea.
- 2
Counting play & stories
Songs, movement and a short number story warm everyone up, so maths arrives wrapped in play rather than pressure.
- 3
Hands-on bead time
Each child explores their own child-friendly soroban, sliding beads, building quantities, noticing patterns, celebrating small wins.
- 4
A little ripple home
A simple take-home play prompt lets families carry the wonder into the week. No worksheets, just a moment of number play.