The cards are printed on one side on a pale blue tinted ~ substantially thick ~ 450gsm ~ smooth finished board. For financial and global resource economy they have not been laminated. It is anticipated that hands will be washed before use. The semi-gloss will permit a light wipe with a slightly damp cloth.
The subject matter has been designed by experienced maths teachers. The design work was undertaken by a professional graphic artist. The typeface has been designed specifically for primary schoolworking and is suitable and familiar to all students. Small design features have been recognized ~ the six and nine are dissimilar ~ the one has a small lead-in (although not as large as the continental style).
The cards are of the same size as the standard credit card ~ 55x85mm. Playing cards ~ such as those used for bridge or poker ~ are made with specialist finishes that enable slick handling. These BusyBusy Cards are suitable for playing games (see below), but lack the finnesse of slipperiness of a playing card. Regrettably this is a matter of expense, which would increase the cost by a factor of about ten.
The set of five basic symbols will be supplemented by further elementary sentence-building signs. Student will have graduated to pen and paper for the more advanced symbolisms.
An important use of cards ~ over pencil and paper ~ is that changes can be made without the need for crossing or rubbing out. Also ~ in early years ~ children are spare the labour of making the shapes. Of course that is something that has to be learned ~ but is not a chore to be added to every other task.