Posts on this blog about Math:
Manipulatives
Counters:
From left: lego bricks, mini fish erasers from the Dollar Tree, mini erasers from Target, Monopoly hotels, beans, animal shaped “stones” from a children’s mancala game, polished stones, flat marbles, buttons, shaped paper clips from Target, bear counters from Walmart (gotten on clearance with sorting buckets about 3 months after school started).
Natural/free/lowcost options:
pebbles, shells, acorns, bottle caps (free with purchase of a drink), buttons, coins.
Bright and colorful low-cost options:
Bear counters and buckets
(can be found at Walmart)
Addition and Subtraction with Dice and Bears
Lego bricks (you need 55 bricks to make stacks 1-10)
Mini Erasers – Target dollar bins around August
Flat marbles:
Addition with dice and flat marbles
Multiplication with flat marbles
Shaped Beads Muffin Tin Multiplication
Mathlink cubes
Fraction circles (about $4 from Walmart around August-September)
Pattern Blocks
Colored geometric forms (from Guidecraft)
Geoboard
Games:
Dice
Pass the Pigs (kind of like dice but way more fun using pig shaped “dice”)
Dominoes (the ones with dots, not pictures).
Domino Math Printables
Printable Tangrams
Printable Pentominoes (print up on cardstock and laminate or on magnetic printer paper).
Hi-Ho Cherry-O
Chutes and Ladders
Monopoly Jr and Monopoly
Clue Jr (logic game)
Time and money games (also from Walmart):
Money Bags coin value game.
Links
Early Childhood math tips
Free Printables:
I have just added some magnet activities to our blog and the girls are going to do more if you are after a couple of experiment ideas. (we were lucky enough to get a book of ideas thrown in with the magnet kit).
I will be checking those out today! Thanks!
Awesome ideas I will use in my kindergarten room! I love the lego towers, I will do them with unifix cubes!
It’s funny that you posted this. I just wrote an article last week about just this subject:
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-15855-Huntsville-Education-Activities-Examiner~y2009m7d13-Help-your-child-with-math-by-making-sequencing-manipulatives
We must be on the same wavelength:)
It’s a fantastic post!! congratulations