If a child can’t picture it, they won’t remember it!
Big Maths turns tricky concepts into something children can picture, using characters, simple routines and memorable phrases, so recall becomes automatic, not effortful. Children don’t struggle because they lack vocabulary. They struggle when the meaning isn’t secure. We build the meaning first, formal terminology follows naturally when required.
If it doesn’t help the learner, it isn’t the priority.
Big Maths is learner-first. That means we ask a simple question: Does this help the child understand right now? If it does, we use it. If it doesn’t, we don’t.
We believe maths should be clear enough to understand, memorable enough to retain, fun enough to enjoy and accessible to every learner.
“If a term does not improve a child’s understanding, it is not the priority!”
Big Maths characters and phrases give children a visual, memorable way to connect with mathematical ideas. The maths is exactly the same. The experience is completely different.
This is not about entertainment.
It is about cognitive efficiency.
Academic jargon
Academic terms such as “commutative law” describe real mathematical ideas, but the labels themselves rarely help a seven-year-old grasp the concept.
Big Maths characters
Friendly, visual tools that help children see and connect with maths concepts. Fun, relatable, and easy to understand… maths that makes sense to children.
Better retention
Children remember characters. Characters carry concepts. When Pim appears, children instantly recall that 3+4 always equals 7… no matter what the “thing” is.
Meet the characters
Each character helps to explain a key mathematical concept and gives children a visual anchor they never forget.
Pim
Counting & It’s Nothing New
Pim has 3 arms on one side and 4 on the other… 7 in total. He helps children see that 3 things plus 4 things always equals 7 things!
Pom
Multiplication & Number Facts
Pom helps children learn multiple, factor, square, and prime. The product goes in his tummy, factor pairs in his arms, and the square root in his tail.
Squiggleworth
Place Value
Each segment on Squiggleworth’s body holds a digit. His feet show that digit with the correct number of zeros. Children love to practice partitioning numbers with him.
Count Fourways
Counting
Helps children to see and feel how the number system grows not just one by one, but in predictable chunks.
Mully Multiple
Multiples & Division
Mully hides behind the biggest multiple of a number that he can find. “Where’s Mully?” is an activity to significantly enhance numeracy, extending children’s knowledge of multiples.
The mathematics does not change.
The route to secure understanding does.
Big Maths Phrases
Alongside the characters, Big Maths uses simple, memorable phrases that help children understand and apply key mathematical ideas.
Smile Multiplication
When multiplying multiples of 10, 100, etc. the zeros can look complicated. Smile Multiplication simplifies this: do the tables bit, count the zeros, then put the zeros on the answer. Works for decimals too!
Coin Multiplication
Find the 1st, 2nd, 5th, 10th, 20th, 50th, and 100th multiples of any number simply by multiplying by 10, halving and doubling. Children see deep relationships between numbers and operations.
Fact Families
A pure form of “It’s Nothing New”… if we know this, we must also know this, this, and this. If you know the addition fact, you automatically know the subtraction facts. Same for multiplication and division.
Jigsaw Numbers
Think of a 2-piece jigsaw with the number 4 on one piece. If we know the total is 10, what’s value of the missing piece? Jigsaw Numbers make number bonds visual and intuitive.
The children absolutely love the Big Maths characters. Pim in particular has become a classroom hero — they actually cheer when he appears on the board.
— Primary Teacher, Scotland
Used in
Maths that children understand. Maths they remember.
Book a free demo and see how Big Maths characters and phrases bring maths to life in your school.