What is manipulative?

influencing or attempting to influence the behavior or

emotions of others for one's own purposes:
a manipulative boss. 2. of or relating to manipulation of
objects or parts of the body; serving to manipulate :
spinal manipulative therapy.

What is manipulative materials?

Manipulatives are physical objects that are used as teaching

tools to engage students in the hands-on learning of
mathematics. They can be used to introduce, practice, or
remediate a concept. A manipulative may be as simple as
grains of rice or as sophisticated as a model of our solar
system.

What is manipulative play and how does it help

children to develop?

Manipulative play refers to activities where children move,

order, turn or screw items to make them fit. It
allows children to take control of their world by mastering
the objects they use. It is often solitary but when sufficient
resources are provided it can also be a cooperative activity.
5 DIY Manipulatives for Preschool
and Kindergarten
Posted on 11:54 AM by Allison Sonnier

DIY Manipulatives

Do you homeschool or add after school enrichment activities

to your child's day? Are you looking for supplies on a
budget? Look no further! Here are five of my
favorite manipulatives for early learning. It took me about
an hour to make all five, and the only supply I purchased
specifically for this project was magnets. I've mentioned
most of these at one point or another in my Tot
School and Tot Preschool posts, and I thought it would be
nice to post the specific details in one place for anyone
interested in the details.
1. Milk Cap Alphabet
These are self explanatory. I washed and saved milk caps
until I had enough to make the full alphabet. I wrote each
letter on a cap with a Sharpie. Eventually I saved enough
for one set of capital letters and one of lowercase. These
are great for letter matching, beginning sounds exercises,
word family games and more. Even better, they can be
used for more than just alphabet games. They can be
sorted by color then graphed. They can be stacked. They
can stand in as place markers for homemade games and
much more.

2. Clothespin Alphabet
These didn't even take five minutes to make. All I did was
write a letter on the head of each clothespin. This set can
be used for letter matching and beginning/ending sound
games, and it is great for fine motor development. My three
year old needs more practice with these.

3. Pom Pom Magnets

These are probably the favorite are here. My boys,
especially J-Bug who is three, could play with these every
day. He loves pom poms in general, so pom poms with
magnets are the bees knees to him. The benefit to using
pom poms as manipulatives is the texture. The added
sensory stimulation pom poms provide helps children retain
what they are learning. I've seen these on many blogs.
I think the original idea came from Mama Jenn.

Pom Pom Magnets are simple to put together, although out

of all the manipulatives, these and the gems below were the
most time consuming. All you need are pom poms, a glue
gun and sticks, and craft magnets. This is our second set.
For the first I used magnets that were much stronger, and
the pom poms pulled apart after just a few months. This
time I got smaller magnets without as much strength. (But
still enough!) They are adhesive backed, but I used hot glue
to reinforce the adhesion.

4. Gem Magnets
These were made exactly like the Pom Pom Magnets. I got
the idea to use glass gems from 1+1+1=1. I made two
sizes and vary which I use depending on the project. These
are terrific for developing the pincer grasp. I use them in
similar exercises as I use the Pom Pom Magnets. These
ones take more strength and precision of grasp than the
pom poms, so I like to alternate which I use.

5. Duplo Number Blocks

What child doesn't love building with blocks? I used a chalk
marker to write the numbers 0-9 on the blocks. A Sharpie
could be used for a more permanent solution. The chalk
markers wipes clean. I used a wipe-able pen on purpose,
because my oldest is a bit picky about playing with blocks
that are marked up. ;-)

I made two sets, so my boys can make two digit numbers by

place the blocks side by side. Before too long I will write out
"thirty-two" on the bottom block and have JZ (who is five)
find the 3 and the 2 to put together. I might end up buying
another set of Duplos, because the list of possibilities with
these is sky high.

Each set of manipulatives is stored in these pencil boxes.

These can be found at Dollar Tree, Target, or any school
supply store. I just bought two more the other day in the
clearance section at my local grocery store!
Stay tuned for ideas for uses and multi sensory learning
suggestions for these DIY manipulatives. I love hands on
learning and have lots of ideas to share!
EVERYDAY MATH MANIPULATIVES
OCTOBER 12, 2015 BY STACY 2 COMMENTS
Each month, Mother Goose Time sends special teaching
tools, everyday math manipulatives for preschoolers, that
can be used multiple times throughout the month to teach
counting, sorting, shapes, spatial awareness and problem-
solving.Manipulatives from Mother Goose Time include
pattern blocks, lacing cards, beads, links, math story cards
and number cards.

WHAT ARE MANIPULATIVES?

They are small items preschoolers can use to:

 sort
 categorize
  count measure
 match
 make patterns

Manipulatives make learning about math hands on,

engaging and fun. Using small objects to count or sort in
play makes math real. The manipulatives kit below is from
the August Folktales and Fables theme.
KINDS OF MANIPULATIVES

Manipulatives can be purchased or found and collected.

When shopping, especially at dollar stores or arts and craft
stores, keep an eye out for items that could be used as
manipulatives. There are also many free or low-cost items
that work just as well. Just make sure they are clean and
safe. Children should be supervised with small objects.

 stones
 bottle caps and lids
 shells
 seeds
 foam shapes
 large shape buttons
 shape sorters
 tube builders
 coffee stirrers / counting sticks
 cardboard tubes
 keys
 balls
 linking shapes
 counters
 pattern blocks
 unit blocks
  interlocking cubes

Make your own manipulatives such as colored pasta for

sorting and patterning:

HOW TO USE THEM

Rote Counting: Rote counting is based on memorization of

number order. Assigning a number to an object is the
developmental milestone called one-to-one
correspondence, and makes counting
meaningful.

Create and use a number line. This one allows the children
to match the numbers. This number line was included in the
June kit, Alphabet
House.

Sequencing and patterning: a repeated sequence is a

pattern. Patterns are things- numbers, shapes or images
that repeat in a logical way. Patterns helps children make
predictions, to understand what comes next, to make
logical connections and to use reasoning skills. We use the
Mother Goose Time calendar to talk about the calendar,
days of the week, patterns and count. My group easily
learns to count to 30 since we count the days on the
calendar
everyday.
In the photos below, we used the Mother Goose Time Math
Story Cards and rabbit counters to make mathematical
ideas “real” using objects. The rabbits are small, medium
and large and also four different colors so they are a very
flexible math
manipulative.
Identifying Shapes: Toddlers and preschoolers can
recognize simple geometric shapes. This activity matches
shapes and develops visual discrimination.

Classifying & Sorting Objects: Older toddlers and

preschoolers can start to sort objects by one attribute. In
the photo below, colored insects and matching buckets are
used for sorting. Learning Resources Bug Counters

Here seeds are used to sort and count. This also doubles
as a fine motor activity whether the child uses fingers or the
tweezers. Uses seeds for counting incorporating science as
well and relates to our In the Orchard theme.

Spatial Relationships: Puzzles develop the concept of

“part-to-whole” relationships. Toddlers and preschoolers
begin to understand the relationship between shapes or
objects. Introducing and using positional words such is
“under” “front” explains spatial relationships.
Problem solving is the ability to think through a problem
and to recognize there is more than one path to the
answer. Below, a 4 year old uses pattern blocks, Hands On
Numbers, and a math mat from Mother Goose Time to
create 3
rectangles.

Games, fine motor development and numbers can all go

together.
These fruit lacing beads were included in this month’s kit,
relating to In the Orchard. They are a quality toy-wood
beads and a lacing string with a “needle” to guide lacing.
Little pie tins were also included for sorting. My group likes
to make “fruit pies” so they are sorting all on their
own.
Count & Clip Cards are used for preschoolers who are
developing one to one correspondence and identifying
numbers.

Our circle time display also features a number tree where

numbers are introduced and talked about in the group
setting. Children can interact with the materials throughout
the day too. The Hands On numbers allow the children to
match numbers, hold them, trace them and play with them.
Mother Goose Time story books incorporate numbers as
well. We counted the number of trees and apples in the
Johnny Appleseed book. You can also see the apples are
sorted by color on the trees. It’s important to talk about
math throughout the day, not just at a special “math time.”

Tips for Using Math Manipulatives

 Introduce math vocabulary. Talk about shapes, longer

than/shorter than, patterns, estimate, size, measure,
texture, analyze, graph.
 Name the shapes: circle, square, oval, rectangle, etc.
 Number: Start with simple numbers 0-10.
  Directional words: straight, left, right, high, low, ear, far
 Use words that show spatial relationships: under, on,
above, below, in the front of, etc.
 Comparative words:more than, less than, taller, bigger,
fewer, smallest
 Descriptive words: light/heavy; empty/full; hot/cold
 Time: before, after, then
 Additional math words: pair, group, set, names of coins
and words that describe measurement

Sort objects into:

 ice cube trays

 egg cartons
 muffin tins
Math manipulatives can also be used in sensory bins, tray
activities, with printable mats or during free play. Use math
manipulatives with play dough:

Free play is the perfect time for exploring math

manipulatives. Provide a variety of materials for them to
explore. The will test cause and effect relationships and
form other mathematical ideas. Allow children to assert
themselves and be independent. We can observe skills
while the child plays.

Organizing Manipulatives

 label Zip-Lock bags (baggies should not be available

to children but they do provide an inexpensive way to
store supplies)
 plastic bins
 baskets