Homeschool Math Manipulatives

This afternoon, the girlies and I are going to sort through and reorganize our vast array of homeschool math manipulatives. We love math manipulatives and use them all year long. Math manipulatives enhance my teaching because they help me present mathematical concepts to the girlies in a more concrete manner. (Without them, we NEVER would have made it through regrouping!)  The girlies love math manipulatives too because they get to play as they learn mathematical concepts.

If you’re interested in learning more about homeschool math manipulatives, you’ll find this post to be a helpful one. I’ve complied a list of our “must have manipulatives”, described where to find them, and noted printable resources you can use along with your homeschool math manipulatives. If you want to be math ready for the upcoming school year, read on.

Must Have Homeschool Math Manipulatives: These are the manipulatives that I can’t live without!

• Counters (bears, beads, cubes, etc)
• Linking clips
• Abacus
• Place Value Rods
• Tangram Pieces
• Fraction Bars
• Pattern Blocks/Shape Tiles
• Geoboards
• Clocks
• Flash Cards
• Pentaminoes

Where To Find Homeschool Math Manipulatives:

• Publishing company: You’ll find exactly what you’re looking for when purchasing directly from the company, but this tends to be the most expensive option.

• Local homeschool curriculum sales: Each spring, many of the local homeschool groups in our area host used curriculum sales. I’ve hit the homeschool jackpot several times while shopping the local sales.

• Ebay: You’ll always find manipulatives here. Prices are usually reasonable, especially if you buy used manipulatives. Just check out the shipping costs to make sure you’re getting a fair price.

• Facebook: There are dozens and dozens of homeschool sale and/or swap groups on Facebook. The group I help administrate has over 3,000 members, so lots of great items are posted daily. If purchasing long distance, be sure to use a safe method of payment such as Paypal. If you can find a local group you can meet up in a safe public location and pay cash. No shipping fees!

• Homemade: This is the least expensive option. This post, 15 Homemade Math Manipulatives, from Heart of the Matter Online has great ideas for making homeschool math manipulatives.

Free Printables for use with Homeschool Math Manipulatives

• Centre for Innovation in Mathematics: This is an awesome general math site, but check out the top box titled For All Years 1 to 6. You can find printable number lines, number cards, shape cards, and math sign cards. These are great to use in games or in math journals.

• Coloring Squared: I just discovered this site last week via Twitter and I already LOVE it! They combine pixels and art to offer unique color by number pages. But don’t be fooled, these aren’t your old school color by number pages. These are color by number with a thought provoking mathematical twist! After you use your math manipulatives to teach a lesson (fractions, decimals, place value, and percents) check out their free math coloring pages to reinforce what you’ve taught.

• Donna Young: This a website every homeschool mom should visit often. You could spend hours checking out all of her resources, but today just review The Math Section, where you’ll find some useful printables.

• Mathematics Blackline Masters: Make sure your printer’s ink cartridge is fully loaded because you’re going to want to print many of the awesome math printables here!

• Printable Math Manipulatives: Before you purchase manipulatives, you’ll want to check out this awesome list of printable manipulatives. Laminate them, so they’ll last for years to come.

A new school year is just around the corner! Start preparing your math materials now. 1,2,3…go!

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