Homeschool: Number Sentences

 At four and a half, Simon seems more than ready to take on some number sentences. He really enjoys the few addition problems he has learned by heart and so I came up with an idea to feed his hunger for math. Why not create a hands-on number game and give him a visual/tactile way to figure his sums?

A totally unrelated idea I once saw on Pinterest gave me an idea, so I gathered the necessary materials. Today was the first time he used the game and I'm pleased to report that it's a complete hit! He keeps begging to do 'just one more'!

Materials:

• Decorative glass pieces in clear and color

• Mod Podge

• Paint brush

• Photo paper

• Color printer

Procedure:

• Print and cut out numbers roughly the size of your glass pieces. I found these pool balls in Microsoft Word clip art and simply sized them appropriately.

• Using your paint brush, apply a small amount of Mod Podge to the surface of the underside of your glass pieces and adhere numbers.

• Apply a coat of Mod Podge over the backside of the numbers and repeat, waiting 20 minutes between coats.

How to Play:

Decide on the structure of your number sentence by choosing two numbers like this: 3 + 5 =

Now ask the child to count out the relevant number of colored glass pieces below both numbers.

The child can now count the glass pieces for the sum and add the correct number at the end!