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.

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.

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.

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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.

Sitting down to do math can be a tedious chore for them, so I do my best to find ways to make it fun and exciting.  Math is such an essential part of learning and in the world we live in, it’s important that we don’t overlook the value of it, no matter how much our kids may resist it.  So, everyday little bit by little bit they are learning facts and hopefully catching on to thinking – Math is fun!

Fun Math Activities

We always start with our curriculum and our worksheets that come along with it.  This reintroduces it each day and creates repetition for their memory.  Remember not to lose heart if things don’t click as quickly as you want them to.

I have to remind myself all the time that learning is a process and Math is something that is built little bit by little bit.  Learning quickly is not as important as building a good foundation.  Take your time, go according to their pace (because you can), and encourage every tiny step forward.

We recently found a great idea of making an addition game out of a simple p-drain. I found mine at Home Depot for under $5 and it made for a great game. We called ours a “Super Duper Adding Machine” which made the kids love it even more!

Marking the different buckets with dry erase markers makes it easy to do problem after problem.   My kids would get such a thrill dumping the equal box out to see how many were in there.  We found that pom poms were a little bit light and would get stuck but we were able to use beads, beans, popcorn kernels,  and chocolate chips.  You could gather anything from around the house that the kids would love!

We also found a great craft for adding or multiplying using their very own hands.  The link I found glued their hand cutouts to a page and wrote out sums of 10.

I modified it just a bit and created a page for them in a sheet protector with a blank equation.  They can then write in any numbers and use their fingers to calculate it out.  They loved using their own “hands” to help with math.  It was so easy and with just one quick swipe they were able to clear the equation and do it all over again.  How did I ever live with out sheet protectors?

I also love these ideas of taking both dominos and playing cards to help with math.  If you are also looking for an online option to strengthen math skills, our favorite is Splash Math.  I just recently discovered it from Janine’s post and my kids have fallen in love with it!

Math can be fun! It may be a strength or a weakness for your child, but remember either way it’s important.  Take your time to build, encourage, and have fun with it!

For more ways to make learning fun, like us on Facebook or follow us on Pinterest!

How do you make math fun for your children?

~Kathryn

The post Fun Math Activities for Kids first appeared on True Aim.

In our house, math is a favorite subject.  The other day I caught my 6-year-old daughter writing equations and solving them on her own!  I never thought a young girl could be that interested in math.  But for a lot of children, math isn’t fun.  It’s frustrating!  So how do you inspire love for a subject that maybe you dread yourself?

This post contains an awesome giveaway below!

Motivation and modalities are the two key techniques I use to help my children with math. For motivation, I introduce the subject through things my kids are really interested in.  Does your child like puppies, candy, or money?  Those are a few of my daughter’s favorite things.  So, I use them to talk about the problems in a way that inspires her to find the answer.

For example, if Audrey has 4 puppies and I give her 1 more puppy, how many puppies will she get to play with now?  Maybe we’ll use candy to help us solve an equation and then eat it as a reward or find out how many chores she has to do to earn enough to buy a Lego set.  Connecting the problems to real life is key to making math meaningful, and also fun, for your children.

Changing the way your children solve the problems is another technique that really helps (modalities).  If my daughter sees the same math problem represented in different ways and learns to solve them, she’ll start to recognize patterns in the equations.  For example, I can show Audrey the same addition problem represented by pictures, or numbers, or by a story problem to help her understand that they are all the same.

That is why I love Splash Math!  It does all of these things for you.  It motivates your children through interactive games, a reward system, and exciting HD animations, while introducing your children to several different modalities of the same problem.

We’ve been using it for a few months now and it has really improved Audrey’s math comprehension.  Plus, she requests to play all the time!  Watch the video below to get a glimpse of what it’s like to play. Splash Math is a comprehensive math program for children in Grades 1-5.  Covering over 300+ concepts, your children can practice math anywhere with access from your home computer, tablet, or IPad.  You can also track your children’s progress in a detailed report to see which skills they have mastered, and which ones they need more practice on.  The best part is, your children get 20 questions per day for free!

Try Splash Math for Free

Splash Math Giveaway!

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The post Make Math Fun with Splash Math: Review & Giveaway first appeared on True Aim.

Sometimes, I can’t believe how much math I’ve forgotten from school.  What should be an easy problem, turns into a half-hour brain buster.  I’ve searched the web for longer trying to find good examples of the concepts my children and I are struggling with.  Now, I’ve found it!  This resource defines all those terms that you need to help your children solve their math equations.

Splash Math’s new Common Core Math Vocabulary page features over 400 different math terms!  The vocabulary is also divided into grade levels so you can see what your children should be learning.  Each term is fully explained with an example, but it also gives parents who the interactive math activity that will reinforce each concept.

Here are a few examples:

Fact Family

If you run into this term in your child’s math book, you might be feeling inadequate.  Don’t worry, this is just jargon used to explain a group of numbers that are related to each other when added and subtracted from one another.  As you can see from the image below, Splash Math provides this simple definition followed by examples and links to fun math games that will help your child practice the concept.

Acute Triangle

This example comes with a great illustration as do many of the other terms.

Making math fun for your children isn’t as hard as it seems.  Use this tool to help your children understand the meaning of common math terms and you’ll reduce frustration.  As your children learn more vocabulary and the applications, their enjoyment of math will increase.  This is one resource you’ll want to bookmark!

How do you help your children with their math?  If you have any great resources, I’d love to hear about them in the comments!

The post Elementary Math Vocabulary first appeared on True Aim.

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Welcome to Mom’s Library!

Filled with parenting tips, activities for young children, crafts, devotionals, recipes, and more!

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Christmas Crafts for Kids eBook

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This Week’s Featured Posts…

Learn Math with Play Dough

Use play dough to do all kinds of math!  But here is a cute cookie game for PreK – K.

Cook Up Some Math

Cooking provides a delicious way to introduce fractions and measuring concepts.

Monster Math Craft

Kids love to create their own creatures.  Try this monster craft and counting activity!

Classic Games

Try this simple twist on a classic game to help children with basic math skills and number recognition.

Free Printable Fall Math Game

Put a seasonal twist on math with this free printable game.

Hands on Graphing Practice

Use things you have on hand around the house to make graphs and calculations.

Fun Math Practice App

This is an amazing app for children in grades K – 5.  There is also a computer game for grades 1-5.

Get Help for your Struggling Student

Their could be more than a lack of motivation holding your child back.  Get help from others!

Make Your Own Make Game

I love this simple game that challenges critical thinking and reasoning skills.  Have you ever made your own math game before?

9 Activities for Kids and Parents Who Don’t Like Math

25 More Ways to Make Math Fun!

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The post 30+ Ways to Make Math Fun and Mom’s Library #68 first appeared on True Aim.

The best thing about this game is its limitless applications.  We also get fresh air and some exercise while learning math concepts like one-to-one correspondence and real number values. You can make your board game as complicated as you think your kids can handle by adding more elements like letter sounds or words.

Here is how we played…

First, draw your board with chalk.  You could make a fun shape or do a spiral.  I put red Xs in some of the boxes as “lose-a-turn” spots.  You could put a +1 or -1 in some of the boxes for “move ahead” or “move back” – spots to include addition and subtraction into the game.  Next, choose your counter.  We made a die from a box, construction paper, and tape. The object of the game is simple; first one to the end Wins!

Now, lets PLAY!

Roll the Die.

Move.

Count one-by-one.

Win!

Celebrate, because learning is fun!

To make this an indoor human board game, simply use rubber place markers or masking tape to draw your board.  You could even add an extra educational element and only allow people to roll after they answer a question correctly.  One more tip to make this your children’s favorite game, add a reward for the winner!  It could be a Popsicle Stick, treat, or position of authority (like choosing the next activity or a book for story time).  Whatever it is, that reward will make the game even more exciting!

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Check out our Preschool Curriculum.

The post Educational Carnival Games: Human Board Game first appeared on True Aim.