Math Manipulatives to Support Math Learning at Home
Manipulatives are used to help students make meaning of the world around them. Having some items like these at home can be very helpful for having your child become a successful mathematician.
What are manipulatives anyway? Spellcheck says it isn't even a word, but you've heard your child's teacher talk about them, and discuss how they use manipulatives to help students develop their understanding of a math concept in a concrete way.
Manipulatives come from the word manipulate. When children touch and move objects around, it helps tap into their senses in an additional way, allowing them to explore and make meaning of the world around them. In reality, we all do this to a certain degree. It's a foundational part of us developing our understanding of how the world works.
While children have (or should have) access to many manipulatives in a regular classroom, we often don't have those exact materials at home. You don't need to go out and buy anything though, you can collect items that might be recycled such as: bottle caps, bottles of varying sizes, toilet paper and paper towel tubes, caps from baby food pouches, egg cartons, etc. Especially in the early years, as sorting and counting are key skills to develop, these are all easy materials to use. I keep one small cabinet in my kitchen filled with different items like these so my children can grab them (instead of my legs) while I am making dinner.