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The BEST Hands-On Math Supplies

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Hands-on learning is the best way to teach!  Kids really learn a concept well when there are multiple senses involved!  Each year I build our collection of hands-on math supplies to use in teaching my kids. We have a great collection now and I love that we can pull these thing out regularly to work and play with. This post is my list of the best hands-on math supplies!

The BEST Hands-On Math Supplies for Kids

Why I Love Hands-On Math:

Math has always been a harder subject for me and many of my kids re in the same place.  Using hands-on math supplies makes the lessons much more engaging. It makes it come to life in a way that it couldn’t otherwise. When you can hold the objects you are adding or subtracting, you can visualize it!  Using hands-on math supplies is really important for some children to really grasp the math concepts.

I am so passionate about this that I even wrote a book about king math come to life!  Check it out!

Math Art and Drawing Games for Kids

The BEST Hands-On Math Supplies for Kids

Unifix Cubes– we use these a lot. It comes with a little counting board that we like to use in counting to ten. We use them for learning to count to 100. They are great for addition and subtraction, too.

Geometric Shapes– These are so fun to just play with. One side opens and you can fill them with water of sand or flour. My kids like to use them to figure out how much each shape can hold. They are clear so the kids like using them on our new light table, too!

Ten Frames– These are great for addition and subtraction. It is a simple, yet fun hands-on math tool!  These could easily be homemade, too!

Counting Animals– These were one of the first purchase I made at the beginning of homeschooling. We have used these so many ways! They are great for counting (by 10’s to 100), sorting colors and shapes, we use them in our balance scale and the kids just love playing with them! There are all different kinds of animals and shapes that are available!

Bucket Balance– This has been a big one that we have used regularly. We used it recently for our candy math. WE have weighed pennies in it, and all kinds of other things. It is a great way to begin teaching the concept of weight to kids. I often get this and the counting animals out for my toddlers to play with during school time.

Tangram Shape Blocks– These have been played with more times than I can count in our house!!  We love using the printable shape mats found lots of places online. We like building geometric patterns with them, and love just using them to teach different shapes.

Math Machine– I had these as a kid and got them for my own kids because I loved them so much!  They are a fun way for kids to ge to know the math problems!

Geoboards– These are fun for shapes, geometry and area!

Toy Clock– Telling time is a tricky one for kids to learn, so this has really come in handy a lot!   Not only is it a great teaching tool, it is also just a fun one to play with.

Hundred Board– This thing has been so great to have!  I have taught 2 of my kids to count to 100 using this board.  They love it!  There are clear tiles as well as solid white ones with numbers on them. MY kids really love the hands-on aspect of this one!

Fraction Tiles or Fraction Circles– Fraction tiles are a great and simple visual to begin teaching fractions. See my Roll a Whole fraction post for a fun way to use these.

Dice- Dice can be used in so many ways for learning!  There are tons of different kinds of dice, too. We love these variety packs.

Place Value Cards or Flip chart– Both of these can be purchased or made! This is my place value flip chart post and this is my place value cards post.

Zometools – Just wrote a whole post about these awesome construction toys. They are an a great math tool to help teach shapes and patterns.

Number Lines are so good for beginning math!

Base 10 Blocks are a great investment for learning counting, place values, and more! They help with addition and subtraction.

Play Money- obviously this is really handy for teaching about money and learning to add and subtract coins and dollars.

 

The Best Math Games for Kids

The Best Math Games for Kids

Hands on math can also include games!  We really love math games in our house and often do one of these in place of a regular math lesson.

Sum Swamp

Trifacta– They have an addition/subtraction as well as a multiplication/division version of this game. It’s lots of fun!

Fraction Pizza

Fraction Bingo

Sequence Numbers

Money Bags

Multiplication War

Shape-O-Metry

Math Dice

Prime Climb

Equate

Sumoku

Want More FUN Math?  I’ve got you covered!

Gummy Bear Math~ Patterns, Graphing and Addition
Geometric Math Art With Circles
Homemade Pick-Up Sticks Math Game
Roll a Beetle Dice Math Game
Amazing Math Art Projects for Kids

Also check out my Homeschool Supply Checklist!

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