If you’ve ever been to my workshops, then
you have seen me demonstrate the highway letters that you can download free
from makinglearningfun.com. Did
you know that you could also download numerals? You could put these in clear sheet protectors and let
children roll play dough and put it on the numeral. They could also drive cars over the numerals or use dry
erase markers to trace (and then erase) the numerals.
If you punch holes at the top and tie on
string you can let the children wear the number vests to demonstrate counting
rhymes, numerical order, inequalities, number sentences, tens and ones, etc.
A good way to help children remember
different facts that equal a certain number would be to call them “friends of number.” For example, friends of five would be 5
+ 0, 4 + 1,
3 + 2, etc. Children could wear the number vests and then hunt around
the room for the number that would make them a friend of a number the teacher
called out.
*Hint! Ask a parent volunteer to copy the highway letters, numbers,
and shapes and you’ll save yourself an ink cartridge.