Hooray for Math Manipulatives

When I was learning arithmetic in public school I was taught to NEVER count on my fingers. And I mean NEVER! My teacher informed the class that was considered “cheating”. And apparently my mom shared her sentiment. Rote memorization was the only option. 

If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It

Thankfully, learning that way worked for me. And I never questioned it. So, when I began homeschooling I taught my oldest son basic math skills the same way that I had learned them. And he successfully memorized his math without “cheating” with his fingers.

Uh Oh, It Broke

Then last year I began having my next son memorize the addition tables. And the flawless method was working perfectly. Until... he got to the 3’s. That’s when we ran into a wall. A big wall full of numbers and addition symbols that seemed insurmountable to my 6 year old. No matter how many times I had him study and recite his flashcards the material wasn’t being memorized. I quizzed him here and there throughout the day, just as I had with my eldest, but that wasn’t helping the numbers to sink into his memory either.

Now What?

I shared the issue with my husband and he suggested the unthinkable. “Why don’t you just let the boy count on his fingers until he memorizes everything?” I’m sure you can imagine the large gasp that escaped from my lips. “Fingers are just portable manipulatives,” my husband assured me. He then called our son into the room and gave him a 2 minute lesson on how to count on his fingers. My son mastered the concept quickly and he was immediately relieved from the pressure of memorization.

Manipulatives to the Rescue

Seeing the sigh of relief from my son instantly sold me on the method. And so began our journey using math manipulatives. I went online to find out how to effectively, and inexpensively, use them. From the information I gleaned I put together a Math Fun Box. (That’s what the children named it; which I must admit sounds much more inviting than my suggestion - Box O’ Manipulatives.) Here is what it entails, in case you’d like to make one for your homeschool.

Math Fun Box

• Dice
• Flash cards
• Popsicle sticks
• Play Money - various denominations of coins and bills*
• Price tags*
• Beans
• Playing cards
• Addition charts*
• Fraction pieces*
• Dominoes
• Clocks*
• Rubber bands, sandwich or drawstring bags - to keep like items together
• Container large enough to hold everything and a lid - I used a gallon sized ice cream bucket

The idea of the box is to fill it with anything that can be used to make arithmetic visual and hands on. I am big on homeschooling economically. So as much as possible, I used what we already had in the house. The items marked with an asterisk I printed off of DonnaYoung.com onto card stock and then laminated.

Praise God

This simple little box of math goodies has revolutionized our homeschool. Now, my son actually asks to use the manipulatives on most days. He and his younger sister even make up their own math games and then play them together. I’m thankful to God that math is now one of my son’s favorite subjects, instead of his most dreaded.

Serfronya Wallace
 The six loves of Serfronya Wallace's life are God, her husband, and her 4 children - whom she homeschools. Serfronya enjoys sharing educational tips and writing about her family's homeschooling journey at Cookie's Domain.