We are loving homeschooling! So far it’s been going great and I feel like Brexton is thriving. During the past few months, we focused heavily on writing letters, letter sounds and site words with Brexton (I can add some of our favorite learning activities if you guys are interested in seeing those) but now with the start of fall, and that he’s mastering those skills- I really wanted to get into math with him, as he’s been expressing an interest in that. Brexton, like many boys, is a very hands on learner and so while searching Pinterest I found this great math activity which is easy to make and fun, so it keeps Brexton engaged in learning.
What you’ll need:
A magnet board
Rectangular Tupperware (medium to large)
Number magnets
Solo cups
Scissors
Colored tape
Duct tape
Beads or pom poms (anything small enough to go thru the solo cups)
You can also opt to do this on a dry erase board but I wanted to use materials that we already had handy around the house. This took me less then 5 mins to make.
First, grab your solo cups and cut off the bottoms. Next, duct tape them to your magnet board (I just did a simple loop to stick it on quickly but then you can remove it with ease). Then just place your Tupperware below the magnet board. You can get fancy and secure these together but I simply leaned the magnet board against the wall and placed the Tupperware next to it. Finally, take your colored tape and make a plus sign on the magnet board and an equal sign on the Tupperware.
Have your child grab two magnet numbers to add and then have them count out whichever items you are placing thru the cups (we used Pom poms). Then, when they fall thru the solo cups into the bottom- have them count all the pom poms to add them together. I then asked Brexton to find the correct magnet number.
There you have it! Brexton really loved this activity and it’s creating a great foundation for learning math. I’ve noticed too with the visual numbers of the magnets and counting, he is now starting to easily remember basic problems like 2 + 2 = 4 much more then when simply doing a worksheet. Again, you probably have most of these items around your house and it’s quick to make. Have fun!