We love to share play and learn ideas from home-learning mothers and educators we've come to know through this small business, and hope you will be inspired by their activities that they do at home with their children. We enjoy working with like-minded parents who love to help their children play and learn! In today's post, we welcome Justina, a creative and dedicated Mama of 5 homeschooling her children. She writes and shares her experience and ideas at @justtey on Instagram. Happy Reading!
We’ve always kept math real, especially with regard to the younger ones. For J4, who has been asking for more “lessons” (ie. structured activities that she sees her brothers doing), this Edx Education Early Math 101 set from Tickle Your Senses has been coming in handy! This Number & Measurement (Level 3) set has various manipulatives, such as a set of 74 number rods, which can be used in various ways to learn different math concepts.
Here are some ways this set can be used:
1: Recognizing numbers & one-to-one correspondence: The set comes with playing cards that have numbers as well as the corresponding number of shapes, as well as number trains where the number rods can be fitted to correspond with the numbers. J4 uses these to learn how to read numerals as well as to learn one-to-one correspondence. We also make it a game, by rolling the place value dice. J4 then calls out the number, finds the playing card with the same number, and count the objects on the card.
2, 3, 4, 5: Number rods are one of the most useful & versatile manipulatives to teach math (Tickle Your Senses also stocks a deluxe number rods set which has more rods & activities). The rods in our set come with a number rods activity booklet, & can be used to teach various concepts: comparing of values (greater/smaller), addition, subtraction, multiplication as well as division. They can be used to visually represent number bonds, or even form pictures to teach symmetry. I love the booklet because it presents many fun ways to use the rods!
6: The place value trains, as well as number trains, are great for teaching place values. An activity guide is also included to help those who need ideas on how to use the manipulatives.
7: Playing cards: These are sturdy, and the numbers are represented using 4 different shapes (of different colours). These can be used to play games (try snap, where whoever places the larger/smaller card wins), or used by the younger ones for sorting based on the same colour/number.
8: The 100s board has a snakes & ladders game board printed on the reverse. You could play snakes & ladders & practice counting. Or you could use the 100s board the traditional way, to identify patterns in multiplication etc. The red & yellow transparent counters can be used to highlight numbers on the board, such as even & odd numbers, or for skip counting.
There are so many possibilities with this set, so much so that I’m also using this for J3 who is doing P1 math. If you are keen, there are other math sets in the Edx Education Early Math 101 series, & you can browse them all over here.