This review is sponsored. All opinions are my own.

When teaching my kids, number sense is something I am very passionate about! 

I want my kids to not only be able to recognize number symbols, but to visualize the value of them. Sometimes young children have trouble understanding the difference. They can commit number symbols and operations to memory, but they don’t fully understand the quantities those things represent. 

To help teach this concept, I normally use base ten blocks or money but I have found something even BETTER! Newmero Bricks! 

They are amazing for building numbers and their representation. At first, these bricks seemed like simple stacking blocks with numbers. I realized they can be used in really creative ways to teach my kids math! 

On their website they also have a free pdf manual with tons of fun games and learning exercises for kids. These games and exercises are awesome because you can combine activities and the manual is super easy to read making setting up very simple. I can let my children help with set-up which just adds to their fun! 

Click the link to get the PDF Manual emailed to you! You will need to scroll to the bottom of the page to see where to enter your email. I have LOVED the free manual! 

5 Creative Ways to Teach Math with Manipulatives

Activity #1: Find the Fish! 

Math with manipulatives is so simple for number symbol recognition, but can also evolve into counting. 

You start by having the kids pick out all the yellow Newmero Bricks. This is a simple way for me to delegate tasks to kids. This peaks their interest even more and preps their mind for learning/having fun. 

Place the bricks out onto the floor. That pile then becomes our “pond”! The kids “fish” for the brick by choosing from the “pond”. They’ll say what number they see on their brick. If one of my kids is having trouble with saying which number they see, I’ll just have them count the knobs on the top! 

To make the game more challenging for my older kids we will use more than just the yellow bricks, we add different colored bricks into the “pond” to represent the hundreds and thousands and as they fish they’ll add up their numbers. 

If they get stuck, the knobs are always there to help them count! Isn’t that super fun? If you want to check this one out in action, check out the video below!

Activity #2: Who is Largest?

I like to call this “I am greater than you, I am less than you”.

This game you can change up in a lot of ways! I have a couple variations that my kids love and make this game more fun for them! We use mathematical language by saying “I am greater than you” if they have a greater number and “I am less than you” if their number is smaller.

You’ll find that your children are highly intelligent and will easily understand the proper language with instruction or explanation. We play this game in a circle using partners on the left and right and each child gets to say whether they are greater or less than the person on the right or left.

We also love to make shark or alligator hands and eat the bigger Newmero Brick number of the person on their left or right! This all helps with understanding size, and the shark and alligator hands will help when teaching greater than and less than symbols! > <

Math with Manipulatives Activity #3: Number Bingo 

Who doesn’t love a game of bingo?! It is a fan favorite in our home! When you sign up to receive the Newmero Bricks Manual it will have free bingo boards in the document. I repeat, free bingo boards! I do not know about you, but whenever I am playing bingo with my children I have to scour the internet for a blank bingo board or try to find an already done bingo boards and make it work for my activity.

The fact that they have one ready to go is perfect for me when teaching my kids at home. You can also print out the Number Bingo materials here.

This game is simple. All you have to do is get the bingo cards for your kid and lay out the Newmero Brick. I’ll usually start as the announcer, but I love to change it up by making one of my kids the announcer. Then, watch them lead with pride! If I am playing with lots of kids, I like to have crayons, markers, or even colored pencils, and when I say the number they can color their Newmero Brick on their paper! 

Activity #4: At the Cash Counter

This game is SOOO much fun for me and my kiddos! To start, the kids and I run around the house grabbing items we would like to put into our home store. Each child can choose pretty much anything in the house as long as it is not a danger.

My kids like to choose each other’s toys, it’s pretty fun. Then I set up the table and line up all the “products” we gathered and I’ll act as the store owner where I decide how much each item costs. The different colored Newmero Bricks are used as their money, and each person will start with a random handful so that no one has the same amount. Now they get to go on a small shopping spree from the items we chose at the beginning! Once chosen they’ll have to count out their “money” to make sure they can afford it. 

I usually let the child’s knowledge of numbers determine the price of the item; larger numbers for my older children, and smaller numbers for my younger children. Sometimes my kids work together by helping each other count, or even pooling their bricks together to buy something big!

When money or items run out I change the game up by allowing one of the children to be the store owner, or, if you’re very entrepreneurial, your children can sell items back to the store! How fun would that be?!

Activity #5: Ten Friends (I call this, Finding Friendships)

Ten Friends is all about making groups of ten using the jigsaw side of the Newmero Brick.

I lay out all of the yellow bricks and explain to my kids that we are finding friendships, not just any friendship, but a very special friendship that adds to 10. Only bricks that can add to 10 can fit perfectly together. For example if my child tries to connect a 4 brick and a 5 brick, the two bricks will not fit perfectly together. I then tell my kids to find all the special friendships.

What I love about this is my kids do not need a lot of knowledge of counting to do this task. Yes, if you know how to count this game would be easier and faster, but I love watching my kids explore the numbers as they try attaching different sides, and counting the knobs.

This is one of my favorite games because I love watching my kids explore the possibilities. Seeing how smart children are when they are able to learn for themselves is so rewarding. For changing this game up, I use the other colors and do Finding Friendships of hundreds and thousands! 

Newmero Bricks for Math with Manipulatives!

There are so many fun, amazing, creative games with Newmero Bricks! This list for Homeschoolers by grade with all of the games has been awesome for me and my kids.

I am super passionate about keeping math fun and engaging. These Newmero math bricks help me do just that! I did not even mention their games for higher level math, up to algebra, solving for missing numbers and side lengths.

If you have a creative math with manipulatives activity mention it below in the comments! All of our children could benefit from fun math learning tips, tricks, and tools! 

The post Ways to Teach Kids Math with Manipulatives! first appeared on True Aim.

Free Royalty Fractions Pack

I love learning math without a textbook, through games and fun learning activities. Fractions can be hard to learn at first, but are a lifelong skill that we often use daily. Print this pack and laminate it for durability and multiple use, or stick them in plastic sleeves.

Use this pack to make fractions more exciting in solo work, group work, or partner work! You can use manipulatives  This royalty themed packet includes princesses and princes of different skin colors, hair colors, and outfit colors. There are three pages: one of princesses, one of princes, and one for pretty flowers. The color words are color-coded to assist kids in reading the color.

You can easily adapt this pack for different age ranges. For preschool and kindergarten, you can have your kiddos fill in the blank with the number. For slightly more advanced learners, you can write the answer in a fraction or the least common multiple. For more advanced learners, you can write the answer as a decimal!

Grab Your Free Royalty Fractions Pack Below!

The post Free Royalty Fractions Pack for Kindergarten first appeared on True Aim.

Preschool Math Hands-on Activities

Preschool Activities: Color and Math with Pom Poms – True Aim Education

Practice math AND colors with this great activity! It can also help develop fine motor skills.

Counting Beads on Pipe Cleaners – Laughing Kids Learn

Use beads and pipe cleaners (both can be found at the Dollar Store) to practice counting!

Free Printable Roll It, Write It, Count It Mats – Frugal Fun 4 Boys

Learn all about numbers with this counting mat. You can practice seeing the number, the quantity, and spelling the number.

The Secret to Skip Counting in Kindergarten – Kinder Craze

Skip counting is a life skill that makes counting a large sum of things easier and faster. Practice skip counting with these free printables!

Snap Plus One Math Game – Kids Activities Blog

Practice counting, addition, and subtraction with this simple Snap One! game! All you need is a deck of cards.

Adding: Dollar Store Project – Mothering with Creativity

With foam cups and paper towel rolls, create this simple addition board!

Feed the Hungry Shape Monster – The Imagination Tree

Practice shapes by feeding the hungry shape monster!

Preschool Math: Straw Match up – Playdough to Plato

Practice comparing, width and length with straws!

Number Writing Activity: Salt Tray Game – Learn With Play at Home

Use sensory techniques by creating this easy salt tray game. Practice matching and number recognition.

Kindergarten Math Game: Bubbling Addition – Mess for Less

When it’s warm outside, try this bubbling addition game!

Counting Cookies Common Core Math Center – Happy Little Kindergarten

Create a math center with chocolate chip cookies! Practice counting and number recognition.

Bear Color Graph – Early Learning Ideas

Practice graphing with little bears! You can substitute the bears for LEGOs, or any other small toy you have on hand.

Money Math for Kindergarten – The Measured Mom

Money is one of the most practical ways to teach math. Use these free printables to teach basic math!

Smack the Number Counting Game – Mom Inspired Life

With only minutes for prep time, create this simple counting game that can be used for independent work, partner work, or center work.

Free Interactive Shape Pages – This Reading Mama

Explore the ways shapes are used in the real world with these interactive shape pages!

Graphing with Preschoolers – Stay at Home Educator

Practice graphing with simple unifix cubes in this preschool/kindergarten activity.

Gumdrop Pattern Printable – The Kindergarten Connection

Learn about patterns with delicious, edible gumdrops. It comes with a free printable!

The post Preschool Math Hands-on Activities first appeared on True Aim.

Addition Games

1. A deck of cards

Grab a deck of cards and divide them into two, the the Jack as 11, Queen as 12, King as 13, and Ace as 1. (or throw these cards out) Similar to “Speed” – whoever can name the sum the fastest gets a point.

2. Play “Don’t Get Zapped – Addition version

Check out the Dollar Store for plastic jumbo craft sticks for this activity. Get full directions at Swamp Frog First Graders.

3. Dominos

Use the dots on dominos to practice addition. Add up both sides of the domino to get your sum. Get full directions and free printables at The Kindergarten Connection. Image credit: The Kindergarten Connection

4. Addition with water balloons

For an outdoors activity, practice learning sums with water balloons! All you need is some water balloons, chalk, and of course decent weather! Check out I Can Teach My Child for more details.

5. LEGOs

Use different colored LEGOs for hands-on addition. Playdough to Plato has some free addition printables for this.

6. Dice

Roll a pair of dice and tally up the sum. This also encourages practicing number sentences. Grab a free printable at Math Geek Mama. Image credit: Math Geek Mama

7. Math Facts Baseball

For kids interested in sports, try this math facts baseball activity. You can grab directions and free printables at Frugal Fun 4 Boys.

8. Ladybug Addition

Have fun with the spots on a ladybug and play ladybug addition. Grab the printables at Schoolhouse Snippets.

9. Addition pancakes

If you have some thin cardboard, a spatula, a permanent marker and a cup – you’re good to go for addition pancakes! This pancakes twist is more memorable and fun than traditional flash cards. Grab full visuals at I Can Teach My Child.

10. Math twister

Take the classic game of Twister into a hands-on addition game! Get full directions at Math Geek Mama.

11. Addition flower puzzles

There are many different addition problems that can make 9, 14, and so on. Discover those different ways with addition flower puzzles. Get full directions at The STEM Laboratory.

12. Gross motor addition game

With a beach ball, practice simple addition. Write random numbers on the beach ball, and when they catch it, have them add up whatever two numbers their hands are touching! Check out the full activity at Mom 2 Posh Lil Divas.

Subtraction

13. Farkle

Take the traditional game of Farkle to learn about subtraction and regrouping. Grab the how-to freebie from Teachers Pay Teachers.

14. Grocery store coupons

Math games can also mirror the real world. Bring subtraction into practical, real-life learning by going through coupons, and subtracting the coupon from the store price.

15. Subtraction Bowling

With a tennis ball and disposable cups, try subtraction bowling and record your results. Get full directions and a free printable at What The Teacher Wants. It’s easy to set up, but has a major hands-on aspect!

16. Subtraction BINGO

There are many ways to combine subtraction and BINGO. See how one mom used BINGO with manipulative for her kids, at 123 Homeschool 4 Me.

17. Cootie catchers

Practice subtraction with cootie catchers. Get the free printable at 123 Homeschool 4 Me for an addition, subtraction, multiplication and division version.

18. Subtraction squash with play dough

Keep engaged with this hands-on activity involving play dough. Get full inspiration at There’s Just One Mommy.

19. Funbrain

Funbrain is one of the best for online gaming for kids, with nearly all of their games being educational in some way, whether directly or indirectly.

20. Flashcards

Flashcards are a great visual way to quickly learn sums or differences. Download this set of bright addition and subtraction flashcards! Use them as independent work, or as partner work.

What are your favorite math games for kids?

The post Math Games: 20+ Addition and Subtraction Games first appeared on True Aim.

My kids love pom-poms and I had leftover coffee cans so I just put the two together. My  two-year-old is learning his colors so I started to make this up for him. I took the Lid of the coffee can and poked some holes in the top. I made them a little bit smaller than the pom-poms.  Then, I outlined the holes with colored markers to match the colors of the pom-poms. Now my toddler can match the colors and poke the pom-poms through the holes.

Since the holes are a little smaller and it takes him a little bit to getting to the pom-poms in.  After he was done putting the pom-poms in, he saw that when I took off the lid they reappeared again. He was so excited! And so was I because  that gave me the idea that I could use this activity for my kindergartner who is learning addition. I could turn this into a math sheet machine!

So, I made some flashcards for her with simple addition problems on them. She put the different colored pom-poms into the can according to what the problem was on the card. When she opened the can she would have the answer to her addition problem! This gave her a way to check her answers so she would have fun putting the problems to memory even if she knew or didn’t know what the answer was.

I love this because there are just so many different applications and it helps strengthen fingers for writing and drawing. The best part is when you get to open the can and dump all the Pom-poms out. It’s like a learning party!

So recycling and math meet in a multi age level activity. So much fun! What do you think? Would your child like this activity?

Make sure you check out our Christian Preschool Curriculum!

The post Preschool Activities: Colors and Math with Pom Poms! first appeared on True Aim.

These games are wonderful for the whole family, especially on chilly winter days. Make up some hot chocolate or apple cider, and choose a couple awesome math games to play with your kids.

Awesome Math Games for Kids

1. Fall Leaves Math Activity

Leaves are falling all over town around here. The kids are thrilled. I can’t tell you how many leaves have been collected and brought into my house. This is the perfect time to do the Fall Leaves Math Activity with the kids. Kids count. They add and subtract. Kids have fun playing with fall leaves while doing math.

2. Knock ’em Down Bean Bag Toss

How many times do your children get permission to throw things in the house? I don’t know about you, but it’s a rare treat in my house. That’s what makes the Bean Bag Toss so much fun. Young kids get to throw bean bags at pins before answering simple math problems. They throw. You teach math. It’s a win-win game for kids and parents alike!

3. Math Dance

Don’t miss out on children’s love of movement and activity by skipping the Math Dance. Instead get your kids rocking and rolling around the house, memorizing facts, and having a blast. Family fun is what it’s all about.

4. Tea Party Math

Preschool kids adore playing tea party math. It’s a simple game that involves inviting every single stuffed animal or doll to the tea party. You count, add, and subtract guests as they arrive. You count, add, and subtract tea cups, saucers, and plates.  You can even count, add, and subtract cookies for your guests.

5. Pattern Block Games

Give your child a bucket of pattern blocks to create an intricate path across the kitchen table. Once the path is built, use a couple of hot wheels or small characters as game tokens to move across the board. Roll a couple of dice, count or add the numbers, and see who can reach the end of the path first.

6. Jump Rope

Instead of jump roping to the same songs children have used for generations, try chanting the drills as you jump rope. Begin first with addition and subtraction chants before moving on to multiplication and division. This is a fun way to both memorize math facts and to add some physical exercise to the homeschool day.

7. Math Bee

Hold a family math bee instead of a spelling bee. Simply divide up the family into two teams with one person calling out math problems. Each team takes turns having one player answer a math problem, although be sure to use grade appropriate math problems to keep things even. See which team can answer the most math problems correctly.

With these awesome math games, your family will have fun learning math together. You can jump, enjoy a math bee, or simply create your own game board on a cold winter’s night.

What are your favorite math games to play?

For more math help, visit our Resource Store!

The post 7 Awesome Math Games for Kids first appeared on True Aim.

You will need a white board, markers, leaves and a dice. Use both of these to alternate, which makes it more fun, or if your child is not yet familiar with the numbers itself. Draw a tree on the board and let the fun begin!

 
 We did a matching activity first, just to get the brain going. I added the numbers and the dots on the tree. Lella(5 years), rolled the dices and matched it with the leaves.

Then, she rolled a dice, and I added the number(2) below the tree. She counted out the leaves and placed it on the tree. Another roll, adding the number(3), and leaves. She counted all the leaves on the tree to get to the answer(5), which I wrote down for her at first. Later she wanted to do the writing herself, I only helped with the +, = etc.

If your child is not yet familiar with written numbers and mathematical signs and you would rather use this activity as a playful counting activity, leave out the sum writing below the tree and “play” it like a story. For instance: “One day there was a tree, and each day the tree woke up his leaves changed. The first day(add leaves), he had 3 green leaves, the next day he had 2 red leaves….” Carry on like that,mother for the subtracting side: “The wind started blowing one night and when the tree woke up, 4 leaves had fallen on the ground (remove leaves), now there were only 1 leaf left on the tree…”

After doing a whole bunch of these easy sums, I introduced the minus concept. This is something we will work more on in the feature, but perhaps you will want to use this as an extension activity. Turn the game around now, and start with a larger number (whatever your child is familiar with), roll the dice to see how many leaves will fall off (be subtracted).

This activity is fun and hands on which is the best way for children to learn, right?
You might like to see these fall learning activities:

15+ Fall Learning Activities
Counting Acorns
6 Fall Arts & Crafts Ideas
15 Apple Activities

The post Fall Leaves Math Activity for PreK and Kindergarten first appeared on True Aim.

This book is set it India where there is a Raja ruling over the people. He decides that everyone should give them most of their rice so it can be saved in store houses in case of a famine. The Raja is smart because a famine does come, but he decides not to honor his promise. More on the story later…

Before reading the story, set up a simple visual example of what the book talks about. I used rice, but you can use anything; cookies, beads, even cereal. It could be really fun to have a special snack after the activity to make story time even more exciting.

Easy Multiplication Math Activity for Kids

I set up bowls of rice that doubled from one bowl to the next. First I started with 1/4 a cup of rice. I tried to use clear bowls so my kids could see the rice, but next time I’ll use bowls that are close to the same size so the kids can focus on the amounts of rice in each one.

I think cookies would be fun to use, just starting with 2 mini oreo cookies and doubling them in each bowl; 2,4,8,16,32.

After I was all set up, I called the kids in the room. I asked if they could see the pattern from one bowl to the next. They were a little puzzled. Right away they noticed that I had a bowl of red rice instead of white. Yes, that is a difference, but that was just because I ran out of white rice. oops!

Then I helped them by asking them if they were really hungry, which bowl of rice would they want? This helped them see that at one end there wasn’t as much rice as the other end. I compared the bowls from least to greatest and asked out of the two bowls next to each other, which one would they want?

Finally they saw that gradually there was more rice in each bowl.

This is where the story comes in. You can find the book, One Grain of Rice on Amazon. (affiliate link)

The pictures are magical, plus there is a fold out page that visually shows an example of the amount of rice that the main character gets in the end.

Or you can listen to it read on YouTube. I really recommend buying the book, but if you absolutely can’t this is the next best thing.

So continuing this story, a girl named Rani sees an opportunity to get rice for the people and help the Raja keep his promise. She sees rice falling from one of the Raja’s elephants, but instead of taking it, she returns it to him. He decides to reward her, and asks what she wants.

Instead of asking for a reasonable amount of rice for herself, she asks for a very small amount, just ONE GRAIN. She asks for that amount to doubled each day for 30 days. The Raja does not see the mathematical calculation of her request and grants her the reward.

It is a simple lesson of multiplication and exponential growth. There are so many different activities you could do with your children after reading this story. They don’t just have to be mathematical, but you could roll play about keeping promises and what happens when you don’t do what you say you will do. What happens when you don’t follow through.

As I’m reading, after certain parts of the story, I like to ask my children questions to make sure that they understood what we read. Questions like, what did the Raja tell the people to do? What happened when there was a famine in the land? What did Rani ask for?

After the story, we went back to the rice and I showed them how I doubled the amount in each bowl. I also showed them on paper what that looked like as a multiplication problem. Then I had them experiment with the measuring cups and rice so they could practice doubling amounts themselves.

What do you think about the story? Would you use rice for this activity or something else?

This post is part of the Reading Around the World Series. Please visit the post below for even more book suggestions and activities!

The post Reading Around the World: One Grain of Rice, A Mathematical Folktale first appeared on True Aim.

That’s why I’m so excited to tell you all about Homeschooling with Math-U-See in this sponsored review and giveaway post. All opinions are my own. For more information please read my full Disclosure.

What is Math-U-See

Our daily math lessons have become my daughters’ favorite part of their homeschooling day. With Math-U-See, learning new math concepts is easy because my children visualize the problems and concepts with manipulative blocks. The dvd lessons also provide teaching support and reinforce the concepts in each section of the workbook. This takes tons of pressure off of me to explain new material.

Each Math-U-See program has 2 sets; an instruction pack and student pack. The instruction pack comes with a teacher’s manual and instructional dvd. The student pack comes with a workbook and tests. The manipulative blocks are separate, but essential to the curriculum, and you only have to purchase those once.

If your child is in preschool, you will want to start with the very first level called Primer. This will introduce your child to basics of mathematics including counting, number recognition, place value, and basic addition and subtraction.

If you are unsure about what level your child is at there is a simple online assessment. My youngest daughter is 5 and assessed at the Beta level. My eldest daughter is 7 and assessed at the Gamma level. I choose the Beta level to review because both my daughters could use it. My youngest would be learning new concepts and my eldest would be strengthening her skills. However, I plan to get Gamma for my eldest daughter next year!

The BEST Thing about Math-U-See

The first thing we do with every math lesson is to get out our blocks and review the previous lesson. ALL my kids LOVE the blocks. Just playing with them teaches basic skills like patterning, sequencing, and value recognition. The combination of the instructional dvd and blocks really make this curriculum different from all the rest.

Homeschool dad and teacher, Steve Demme, does an amazing job connecting all of the concepts in this program to real life while using the blocks so children can actually SEE the problem being solved. You can view samples of his instruction on the Math-U-See website. 

In the first lesson, my children learned about place value. Mr. Demme explained it by drawing a road he calls decimal street. What a great idea! Each house has a different family (units, tens, hundreds, ect.) and the houses are only so big, so if a house gets too many units in it, someone has to move over to the next house. Check out the explanation for yourself below!

That is just one example, but Mr. Demme has lots of other great methods to explain confusing concepts to young children.

Another great new feature, is the Math-U-See Manipulatives App.  It is a virtual version of the physical manipulatives so children can practice what they’ve learned while on the go.

There are so many great benefits to the program, but my favorite part is seeing the smiles on my daughter’s faces when they solve a problem correctly. My eldest quickly solved a triple digit addition equation mentally after practicing with her blocks. My jaw dropped, I was just so surprised! Math brings joy to my children which means they are learning to love learning; a priceless gift!

Math-U-See Giveaway!

One lucky True Aim reading will win a Math-U-See curriculum of their choice!

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The post Giveaway! Hands-on Math Curriculum with Math-U-See! first appeared on True Aim.

Welcome to Mom’s Library

This post is filled with parenting tips, activities for young children, crafts, devotionals, recipes, and more!

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Click here to see all Mom’s Library Posts

This Week’s Giveaway

Math Essentials Curriculum

This upper level math curriculum features short, easy to digest lessons and online videos to help students see visual explanations of how to solve the problems. See the full review here and Enter to win a Book of your choice!

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This Week’s Featured Posts

Ball Jar Numbers

I was very inspired by this post. You could do so many different activities with this. The best part would be to see which numbers they could shoot in the jar!

Ocean Counting Sensory Bin

Combine ocean vocabulary with counting for a great hands-on activity.

Buried Treasure Math

One of my children’s favorite games and also a sensory bin. Teach them the names of money or how to count it.

Grocery Shopping Math

There are so many things you can learn at the grocery store!

Number Study

This free printables has lots of unique activities for the number 15.

Check out 30 more Unique Math Activity Ideas!

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The post Unique Math Activities and Mom’s Library #137 first appeared on True Aim.