But instead of using our Base 10 Blocks, we decided to get a little crafty and make a set out of beans.
We used the Jumbo Popsicle sticks, and I think these are red kidney beans.
I put up a full photo tutorial in case you’re not familiar with the idea of Base 10 blocks.
I suppose you could use any other item that would fit on a popsicle stick; macoroni, stickers ect…
You could really customize them to encourage involvement.
Sissy really enjoyed using these sticks to count up to the hundreds, and Bubba liked the feel of the beans on the sticks. Since she was part of the process of making them, I think she participated more in their use.
And of course that got me wondering…….
What special tools have you made special for your children to learn with?
In our history curriculum, we learn about cultures and events around
the world. It was hard for my boys to keep track of where the countries
were that we had learned about. So I got a big world map and taped it
to the wall. As we learned about a country, my boys would draw a small
picture of something to remember about that country and tape it to the map
on the appropriate spot. A pyramid went on Egypt, the Great Wall on China,
the Colosseum on Rome, etc. It helped the boys learn the location of
the countries on the map and gave a great review of history in the process.
I’d completely forgotten about doing that.
I was looking for some Montessori inspired math and these sticks are perfect! Thanks!