Magnificent Manipulatives Presented by Kerbi Blake Winter PTAC 2011
Counting Manipulatives number recognition and counting Use a container with compartments (a chip and dip tray works well) Place a number in each section (Number stickers work great) Give your child objects to count (pom poms, bugs, big buttons, small pumpkins, bells theme or holiday related can be used you can get Christmas garland and cut it apart also small pretend Christmas presents) The children should count out and place the correct number in each compartment Number Wheel Use a piece of cardboard in the shape of a circle (or use a paper plate). Use a ruler to draw lines across the middle of the circle to form pie pieces (do any number from 4 to 10) Either write the number in the pie piece or place a sticker in the pie piece. Write corresponding numbers on clothes pins. Mix up the clothes pins and have children pick one at a time and clip it to the correct pie piece. OR have the children line up the clothes pins in order from 1 to the highest number. Starting with number 1, the children put the clothes pins on the matching pie piece. You could also make a number pizza place a number on each piece of pizza and cut out small circles (or red bingo markers) to make pepperoni and the children put the correct number of pepperoni on the slice Dice Math game Use large foam dice. The children roll the die, count the dots, and then count out items to come to that number. We started this game in circle time. Each child had a turn and after every child had a turn, we put the items together to count (out loud) how many we had all together. After playing several times in circle time, we placed the game on the table for a center. Any items can be counted we tried to use theme based items;
small pumpkins at Halloween, mini presents at Christmas, plastic bugs during bug unit, etc. You can also use magnetic or wooden numbers and the children roll the die and then pick the correct number. Color Sorting Use vegetable or chip and dip tray. Place a color sticker in each section so they have something to match (garage sale stickers or just circle stickers from stationary section of store if you don t have stickers cut out construction paper and glue to tray) Now give them items to sort - craft "pom poms", foam pieces, large beads, buttons, etc. Color sorting can also be done by using colored construction paper and giving them items to sort and place on the correct colored paper to help with early reading, write the name of the color on the paper. You can do the same for shape sorting write the name of the shape on a piece of paper and give them foam shapes to sort. Lacing Cards - Cut shapes out of poster board or cardstock. Use a hole puncher to make holes around the edges. You can use shoe strings or yarn and the children can lace them. (to make these more durable, glue to cardboard and cover with clear contact paper before punching holes). Puzzles Puzzles are a great for small children. All varieties should be used in a classroom. It is very easy to make your own puzzles to match a particular theme. Glue a picture onto cardstock or cardboard (cereal boxes work well) then cut into pieces. Old, outdated or calendars you find on clearance are great for this. It is ideal to have two copies so that children have an example or guide to follow. Puzzles can be stored in Ziploc bags. Straws cheap straws from Walmart or dollar store without the bend in them. Children can build with them, sort them by color and count them. This can be done in centers or as a game ask everyone to pick 2 yellow, 2 blue, etc.
View Masters an old classic Geo Circles building I Spy Books or large I spy pages with magnifying glasses Binoculars Magnetic boards (like old typing stands) with magnetic letters and shapes. The children can sort by color, shape or letter and they can spell with letters. You can make some flashcards to help them spell. Tweezer squeezers use tweezers to pick up small objects and place in bowl. Hair elastics and tongue depressors they place hair elastic on tongue depressor making patterns. Rubber bath tub shapes with marbles place rubber bath tub shapes upside down on tray so that small grips are facing up. The children use small scoops to place the marbles on the grips. Great for the muscles they use to write. If you don t want to buy the bath tub shapes, you can have children place one marble into each section of an egg carton or old ice cube tray. Hair Clips and small bowls they clip the clips onto the side of the bowl. They can make patterns if they like. Another great activity for those writing muscles. Scrabble pieces they place them on the stand and spell things, usually their name. You can make flashcards with simple words and have them spell those words. Jumping frogs just a fun activity the frogs are the little plastic ones that you touch the end and they jump. Clothespins and cool whip container Simple make at home game. Use an old cool whip container (or any other plastic bowl) and have the children clip
clothespins onto the edge. You can use colored clothespins and they can make patterns. (yet another writing muscle exercise). Wind up toys any little toys that have the small wind up thing on them another writing muscle exercise and they love to watch them go. Silly putty and newspaper Remember this!! Stacking cups we use the small Dixie cups made for bathroom use. Magnetic discs and wands add some household items that are magnetic (nuts, bolts, paper clips, etc.) as well as non magnetic items. You can also place the magnetic discs into a water bottle and use the wand to move the items up and down the side of the bottle. Slinky another oldie but goodie Coins large plastic coins can be used for rubbing provide crayons and paper Dominoes great for matching numbers teach them how to make a train Keys they can be used for rubbing, sorting, counting and placing on hooks Snack Give the children toothpicks (you know whether or not your children can use these safely) and some snack items like cheese and marshmallows and tell them that they can eat them but cannot touch the food with their fingers (again, using the writing muscles). Alphabet matching game glue upper case and lower case letters onto cardstock or small plastic lids (personal size ice cream are a great size). Have children pick one upper case and then find the matching lowercase letter. Bead abacus Place 5 10 beads on a string and tie both ends. The children will go around the room and count items, moving the beads from left to right to indicate how many items they have counted.
Egg carton and tongs place small items in the wholes of one side of an egg carton and have children move them to the other end using tongs. (small blocks, beads, small rocks, puzzle pieces, etc.) Counting Cards Take several index cards and label them with numbers 1 10. On the back of the card, stick the appropriate number of stickers (i.e. if the card says 5, place 5 circular stickers on the back like garage sale stickers). Give the children small objects to place on the stickers. Patterning Place beads onto a straw, chopstick, or shish kabob skewers in a pattern. Use hot glue to glue the end beads so that they cannot come off. Provide straws and beads to the children so that they can repeat the pattern. This works well with large beads and a coffee stir straw. Cutting Draw lines (wavy, straight, or zig zag) and place a sticker or draw a star at the end of the line. Allow children to cut along the line all the way to the star. Tracing Provide paper, pencils and cookie cutters. Allow the children to trace the object and then color. You can also use small wooden shapes (found at Michael s or Hobby Lobby). Learning beginning sounds Glue pictures onto index cards, on the back of the card write the letter of the beginning sound then laminate the cards. Give the cards and magnetic or wooden letters to the children. They pick the letter that they think is the beginning sound and then they check the back of the card to see if they were correct. Water bottles Make I Spy games by filling a bottle with bird seed and several small objects (dice, beads, paper clip, etc.) Make a list of the items and the children can try to find all of the objects. You can also make several bottles filled with different items so that the children can use several of their senses. Items that can be used jingle bells for sound; beans or rice; small corks; hair gel and beads, karo syrup, blue food coloring and small fish.
Water bottle lids you can write letters on the lids with permanent marker and the children can use them to write their name or place them in alphabetical order. This can also be done with numbers and they place them in the correct order. For older children, you can use addition, subtraction, equals sign, etc. and they can do hands on math problems. Rubber stamps The rubber stamps with the handles are great for strengthening the writing muscles. We have a set of alphabet stamps and we have the children stamp their name. You could also write or print words on a page and leave space under each word for them to recreate the word. (Great for letter recognition.) Beading with straws Cut straws into one inch pieces and let the children lace them creating a necklace. Use colored straws and they can make a pattern. During God Bless America week, you can use red, white and blue straws at Christmas, use red and green, etc. Milk jug lids these are great for creating matching games. You can put stickers on them and they can use them like a memory game. You can make two sets and they can match. You can use colored stickers and they can sort. You can also write on them with a sharpie marker the possibilities are endless! My last suggestion is to use your imagination and remember that children love the simpler things. At an early age, they learn a lot by playing and most of the time, they do not realize they are learning. Even the child who hates to do worksheets, can learn the same thing by playing.