Ready to get creative with your learning tools?! In this blog post, I’ll share some fantastic DIY math manipulatives that you can easily whip up at home.

You’ll find ideas for number sense, making 10, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, geometry, and more. The ideas all use everyday materials (or ones you can easily pick up at a dollar store) and will help your little learner visualize abstract concepts in a fun, hands-on way.

Free Fractions Printable

Just before we get started, I have a freebie that you are going to LOVE! This FREE Printable Citrus Fractions Bundle will teach your little one all about fractions through playful—and oh so adorable!—activities. Grab your copy right here:

Number Sense Math Manipulatives 

First up are DIY math manipulatives perfect for practicing number sense, making 10, place value, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and more.

DIY Wikki Stix Cuisinaire Rods –  Cuisinaire Rods can be used for addition and subtraction, and are ideal for helping children see how numbers fit and work together. We used different colored Wikki Stix to make these Cuisinaire Rods.

DIY Wooden Base Ten Blocks by And Next Comes L – The next time you’re at a dollar store, keep your eyes peeled for some of these mini blocks to make your very own base 10 blocks!

Bead Racks by Brown Bag Teacher – With a piece of cardboard, beads, and an elastic string, you can make these bead racks, perfect for exploring Making 10 and simple addition and subtraction.

Bottle Cap Math by Boy Mama Teacher Mama – Simply write the numbers 0 to 10 on bottle caps and you have a math manipulative that can be used to help teach so many different concepts. Boy Mama Teacher Mama shows you how to use these bottle caps to learn things like place value, patterning, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and more.

Place Value Cups by Saddle Up for 2nd Grade – I love this idea!! Use cups to teach children about place value as well as writing numbers in expanded form. Brilliant!

Egg Carton 10 Frame and Uno Cards by Happy Toddler Playtime – Egg cartons cut down to two rows of five make wonderful ten frames! Pair that with a deck of Uno cards and any little math manipulatives you can find (squeeze pouch caps were used here), and you’re set for all sorts of number learning.

Pop-It Fidget Toy Math Activities by Teaching Mama – It’s time to pull out the Pop-Its again! A giant 100 bubble Pop-It is perfect for practicing a whole host of mast concepts, including multiplication. Teaching Mama also gives lots of ideas for how to use smaller Pop-Its to practice addition, subtraction, arrays, odd and even numbers, and more.

Printable Math Manipulatives by Math Geek Mama – Math Geek Mama has all sorts of printable math manipulatives free for you to download in this blog post!

DIY Math Manipulatives for Geometry

DIY Tangrams – Tangrams are excellent for spatial visualization, problem-solving, and manipulating geometric shapes. So much learning disguised in a toy! You can grab a set of Free Printable Tangrams right here.

DIY Wooden Geoboard by Quark – Geoboards are wonderful for teaching kids all about geometry while strengthening little hands and fine motor skills as they stretch those elastics. Plus, it’s super easy to make your own! All you need is a piece of wood and some nails to make your own.

Popsicle Stick Shapes by Learning from Playing – Popsicle sticks are a wonderful tool for learning about shapes. Learning from Playing also added some Velcro dots so little ones can secure their shapes together.

DIY Math Manipulatives for Fractions

Paper Plate Fractions by We Are Teachers – Paper plates are perfect for teaching fractions! This example uses different colored plates to help distinguish between the different fractions, but you could achieve the same effect by coloring a white paper plate or simply writing the fractions in different colors.

Watermelon Fraction Puzzle by Happy Tot Shelf – If you want to up the cuteness level on your fraction lessons, this watermelon puzzle is for you! Little ones will love exploring how different sized slices will fit together to create one whole watermelon.

DIY Fraction Strips by Mashup Math – Fraction strips are another amazing tool to help children visualize fractions and how they combine to make a whole. All you need is some paper, a marker, and a pair of scissors to make your own.

DIY Pool Noodle Fraction Manipulatives by A Few Shortcuts – Kids are going to LOVE stacking pool noodles to explore fractions! While you can’t see it in the picture, these noodles were labeled with the fraction on the front and the decimal equivalent on the back.

I hope this inspires you to create some of your own math manipulatives to explore at home!

How Wee Learn Math Curriculum

Ready to teach your little one all core math skills in only ONE page a day? The How Wee Learn Math Curriculum for Grades 1 to 3 uses storytelling to engage little learners as you explore all the math strands and build a strong foundation. Learn more right here:
https://shop.howweelearn.com/collections/grade-school-math-and-literacy

Thank you so much for reading, sweet friend!

xo
Sarah