Reddit mentions: The best mathematics & counting toys
We found 108 Reddit comments discussing the best mathematics & counting toys. We ran sentiment analysis on each of these comments to determine how redditors feel about different products. We found 50 products and ranked them based on the amount of positive reactions they received. Here are the top 20.
1. Learning Resources Centimeter Cubes, Counting/Sorting Toy, Assorted Colors, Set of 500, Ages 6+
- COUNTING CUBES FOR KIDS: Perfect for measuring, counting, and patterning
- CUBES INTRODUCE KIDS TO MATH CONCEPTS: Introduce children to measurement of area and volume
- 10 DIFFERENT COLORS: Cubes come in 10 different colors
- ACTIVITY GUIDE HELPS PARENTS TEACH KIDS: Includes storage bucket and activity guide
- GREAT FOR FIRST GRADE & UP: Ideal for ages 6+
Features:
Specs:
Color | Multi-color |
Height | 3.3 Inches |
Length | 6 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | January 2002 |
Weight | 1.25 Pounds |
Width | 6 Inches |
2. Learning Resources Plastic Base Ten Starter Kit
- HELP students understand abstract base ten concepts; including place value, estimation, operations and fractions
- All cubes made of durable plastic, washable plastic for years of hands-on activities
- Set includes - 100 individual units, 30 rods, 10 flats, 1 cube, and 107 page Base Ten Book
- For 3-4 students
- Ideal for ages 6+
Features:
Specs:
Color | Multi-color |
Height | 4.7 Inches |
Length | 11.9 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | January 1991 |
Size | 4.7 H x 11.9 L x 9.1 W |
Weight | 2.20462262 Pounds |
Width | 9.1 Inches |
3. Learning Resources Transparent Color Counting Chips, Set of 250 Assorted Colored Chips, Ages 5+
250 PIECES: These transparent counters that are great for classroom use, counting and sorting, a game of bingo, or a sensory bin!HANDS-ON MANIPULATIVES: These counters are great for learning counting, sorting, grouping, addition, and subtraction.TRANSPARENT: These counters are completely transparent...
Specs:
Color | Multi-color |
Height | 1.1 Inches |
Length | 4.5 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | March 2018 |
Size | set of 250 assorted chips |
Weight | 0.09 Pounds |
Width | 4.3 Inches |
4. Learning Resources Time Tracker Mini Visual Timer, Classroom Timer, Hand Washing Timer, Auditory and Visual Cue, Ages 3+
- GREAT FOR HOME OR CLASS: Simple timer with three colored lights and an optional alarm with visual and auditory cues for timed activities
- MULTIFUNCTIONAL: Facilitate independent time management skills. Use as a hand-washing timer for kids or as a countdown in timeout and more!
- EASY TO USE: Easy to operate with just 2 dials: total alarm time and warning time
- AUDITORY & VISUAL CUES: Adjustable volume and visual cues
- AGES 3+
Features:
Specs:
Color | Multicolor |
Height | 4.1 Inches |
Length | 6.1 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | January 2011 |
Size | 4.8" x 3.3" x 3.3" |
Weight | 0.05 Pounds |
Width | 4.1 Inches |
5. 24 Game: 48 Card Deck, Single Digit Cards Math Game
Practice your math facts!Box contains 48 double-sided 4'' x 4'' cards.Single Digit cardsColored DOTS on cards indicate varying degrees of difficulty.1 Dot cards are easy, 2 Dot are medium and 3 Dot are tough.Great product while travelling ; recommended age - 9 years and up
Specs:
Height | 1 inches |
Length | 4.25 inches |
Weight | 0.24 pounds |
Width | 4.25 inches |
6. Learning Resources Jungle Animal Counters, Set of 60, 12 Animals, Ages 5+,Multi-color,
- DETAILED JUNGLE ANIMAL TOYS: Introduce early math to your child with these beautifully detailed jungle animal
- SORTING AND MATCHING ANIMALS FOR KIDS: Develop skills like sorting, matching, imaginative play, fine motor, eye-hand coordination, and so much more.
- FUN JUNGLE ANIMAL FACTS INCLUDED: Fun "Did You Know?" animal facts are included to help children build vocabulary and encourage curiosity about wildlife
- 60 PIECE SET, 5 OF EACH ANIMAL: Set includes 5 each of - cheetah, elephant, gazelle, giraffe, gnu, gorilla, hippo, lion, ostrich, rhinoceros, tiger, and zebra
- GIVE THE GIFT OF LEARNING: Whether you’re shopping for holidays, birthdays, or just because, toys from Learning Resources help you discover new learning fun every time you give a gift! Ideal gift for Halloween, Christmas, Stocking Stuffers, Easter Baskets or even for Homeschool.
Features:
Specs:
Color | Multi-color |
Height | 5.1 Inches |
Length | 6.2 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | January 2004 |
Weight | 1.10231131 Pounds |
Width | 6.2 Inches |
7. HiHo! Cherry-O Game
- High quality toys for children all ages
- Made using safe materials
- Tested for quality and durability
- Fun hiho! Cherry-o game challenges kids' Math skills
- Helps kids practice counting and numbers
- Players pick pretend fruits off of their trees
- The first player to pick all the fruit off their tree wins
- Includes game board, spinner with Arrow and base, 10 cherries, 10 blueberries, 10 apples, basket and instructions
- Fun HiHo! Cherry-O game challenges kids' math skills
- Helps kids practice counting and numbers
- Players pick pretend fruits off of their trees
- The first player to pick all the fruit off their tree wins
- Includes gameboard, spinner with arrow and base, 10 cherries, 10 blueberries, 10 apples, basket and instructions
Features:
Specs:
Color | Multi/None |
Height | 10.512 Inches |
Length | 1.89 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | August 2018 |
Size | One Size |
Weight | 0.5 Pounds |
Width | 7.874 Inches |
8. Learning Resources Square Color Tiles, Counting, Sorting Toy, Set of 400 in 6 Colors, Ages 3+
- Tiles are great for sorting, stacking, and comparing & contrasting
- Kids explore number and color patterns, measurement, and probability
- Set of 400 tiles in 6 colors
- Includes storage bucket and activity guide
- Ages 3 and up
Features:
Specs:
Color | Multi-color |
Height | 6.6 Inches |
Length | 5.6 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | January 1990 |
Size | 1 X 1 in |
Weight | 2.20462262 Pounds |
Width | 5.6 Inches |
9. Small World Toys Learning - Math Magic Mixer
- Math Magic Mixer from Small World Toys Learning is challenging math fun for elementary-age kids
- Roll the mixer in your palm and use the numbers on the colored dice in any equation that results in the sum of the 2 black dice
- A fun, educational game that's great for travel, too
- Magic mixer measures 3.5''H; suitable for children 8 and up
- For 50 years, Small World Toys has delivered fun, safe, innovative and endearing products for children of all ages
Features:
Specs:
Height | 7.086 Inches |
Length | 7.086 Inches |
Weight | 0.44 Pounds |
Width | 1.574 Inches |
10. Learning Resources Three Bear Family Counters, Educational Counting and Sorting Toy, Rainbow, Autism Therapy Tool, Size Awareness, Set of 96 Ages 3+
- These plastic bears come in three sizes, three weights and six colors
- Help children understand abstract math concepts with hands-on bear manipulatives
- Bears are proportionally weighted to use on a balance for measurement
- 96-piece set includes 24 Papa, 24 Mama and 48 Baby Bear counters, storage container, and activity guide
- Ideal for ages 3+
Features:
Specs:
Color | Multi-color |
Height | 5.25 Inches |
Length | 6.25 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | January 1994 |
Size | 5-9/10 L x 5 W in |
Weight | 1.6755131912 Pounds |
Width | 6.25 Inches |
11. Educational Insights Math Slam, Math Games, Addition/Subtraction, Practice Math Facts, Ages 5+
- SPARK MORE LEARNING: Whether you're inside the classroom or teaching at home, these tools can help spark their passion for learning!
- MAKE MATH PRACTICE MORE FUN: Master critical, foundational math skills the fun way! Math Slam will engage kids to learn their math facts and challenge them to better their score every time. Read the question, jam to the beat, scan the possible answers, and QUICK! Slam the button with the correct answer
- TIMED GAMES WITH COOL SOUND EFFECTS: Each game is timed with 13 questions. Incorrectly answered questions are recycled until they're answered correctly, ensuring mastery and comprehension. Increasingly difficult levels, flashing lights, and fun sound effects keep kids engaged and slammin' for more
- 5 DIFFERENT MATH GAMES: Includes 5 fun math games with 4 challenging levels of play that teach number order, addition, subtraction, algebraic addition, and triple addition and subtraction
- PORTABLE & TRAVEL FRIENDLY: Take Math Slam on the go and have them practice their math facts in the car, airplane, or doctor's office. Features volume control and headphone jack. Requires 3 C batteries (not included)
Features:
Specs:
Color | Multicolor |
Height | 2.9 inches |
Length | 10.5 inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | January 2020 |
Weight | 1 Pounds |
Width | 7.7 inches |
12. Learning Resources 4-Pan Algebra Balance
- Use this unique balance to demonstrates that -1 < 0
- Kids learn algebraic concepts and weigh measurement through physical demonstration
- Balance includes 4 plastic pans 4 plastic canisters, a set of weights and a Teacher’s Booklet
- Some assembly required
- Ages 11+
Features:
Specs:
Height | 2.7 Inches |
Length | 20.2 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Size | 2.7 H x 20.2 L x 13.5 W |
Weight | 2.20462262 Pounds |
Width | 13.5 Inches |
13. Skoolzy Rainbow Counting Bears with Matching Sorting Cups, Bear Counters and Dice Math Toddler Games 71pc Set - Bonus Scoop Tongs, Storage Bags…
- PRESCHOOL LEARNING TOYS with BEAR DICE: Children will find MANY WAYS TO PLAY. The counting BEARS with CUPS & bear DICE make for fun toddler games. As occupational therapy toys for toddlers, preschool and k-3 boy or girl; these occupational therapy gifts will the improve hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills development of your 3, 4, 5 or 6 year old preschoolers to learn to add, count, sort & stack
- TODDLER EDUCATIONAL TOYS: Great STEM educational math manipulatives for preschoolers and montessori materials toy that includes rainbow color sorting & counting activities designed to MOTIVATE AND STIMULATE YOUR CHILD'S MIND. The bear counters are also great as sensory autism toys or math Montessori toys for toddlers. The toddler toys work as baby learning toys for 3 year old boys and girls to make fun toddler activities. They are useful for preschool learning toys for 4, 5 or 6 year olds.
- Sorting toys make fun TEACHING AND LEARNING RESOURCES for teaching color recognition & basic mathematics concepts to toddlers. The math manipulatives also function well as preschool toys with addition & counting toys by 2s, 3s, 4s and 5s. Use for educational games or boys and girl toys for kids math games for 3 year old toddlers through kindergarten and elementary and homeschool supplies. These montessori materials work well as fine motor skills toys for occupational therapy tools
- GIFT A TOY THAT IS EDUCATIONAL AND FUN: These bears matching toys are learning toys for babies, toddlers, preschool and elementary age children meaning that you will get many years of use from one toy. The travel toy storage container holds all the colored cups or bears & dice. Though the colored counters make great 3 year old girl toys, they are not intended for those who still place objects in their mouth. Bear counters are 1" tall. Supervision required if child is 3 years of age or younger!
- ✅ BEST GIFTS FOR GIRLS & BOYS ✅ The toddler learning toys for 3 year olds and stem toys for 4 year olds are a great resource for daycare and kindergarten. This educational kids toy in 6 colors is SAFE FOR YOUR CHILD. The teddy bear counters and cups set made of durable plastic. The kids toys are independently Third-Party Lab Tested. Certified Non-Toxic and is BPA-Free, Lead-Free and Phthalates-Free.
Features:
Specs:
Color | Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple |
Height | 10 Inches |
Length | 9 Inches |
Number of items | 70 |
Width | 3 Inches |
14. Fat Brain Toys Inchimals
Set of 12 wooden blocks printed with measurements and vibrant animal charactersSequence inchimals from shortest to longestA brilliant learning experience for children ages 3+Practice counting skills, sequencing skills, fine motor skills, visual-spatial skillsWinner of teachers' choice award - learni...
Specs:
Height | 8.75 Inches |
Length | 15.5 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Weight | 3.08 Pounds |
Width | 2.75 Inches |
15. Circle Perfect Math Compass, Bulk Set for Classroom Geometry, Draw Circles Up to 10-Inches (Pack of 30)
Students can draw perfect circles every time with this math compass setDraw circles, angles, and measure length with this circle math compassScaled in both metric and inches, allowing circles up to 10 inches or 24 cmCompasses can also connect in tandem to make large circles, or insert an art knife t...
Specs:
Color | 0 |
Number of items | 30 |
Weight | 2.31 Pounds |
16. Learning Advantage F.U.N. Empty Number Line System - 182-Piece Blank Hanging Number Line with 25 Write On/Wipe Off Cards, 6" x 80"
A number line can serve as a resource to help solve a wide range of mathematical problems across grade levels.The double-sided feature and dry erasable surface adds to the versatility of the F. U. N. Empty Number Line.Pull down suction cups enable mounting on most smooth surfaces. Included binder cl...
Specs:
Color | Multicolor |
Height | 6.4 Inches |
Length | 12.25 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Width | 8.6 Inches |
17. Didax Educational Resources Fraction Squares
For Grades 2-8Popular hands-on math manipulative for teaching and learning fractions4" square, 51 pieces
Specs:
Height | 1 Inches |
Length | 6.25 Inches |
Weight | 0.56 Pounds |
Width | 7.5 Inches |
18. Place Value Disks (140 Disks: 20 for each of 7 values), Singapore Math Manipulatives (Grades 3-6)
- Crystal Springs Singapore Math Manipulative
- Grades 3 through 6
- Color-coded foam disks according to place value
- 140 disks included with 20 disks for each of the 7 values
- Re-sealable poly bag and instruction sheet included
Features:
Specs:
Height | 0.25 Inches |
Length | 1 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Weight | 0.1 Pounds |
Width | 1 Inches |
19. Primary Concepts Category Sorting Learning Kit, Educational Set of 50 Objects in 10 Categories for Children
SET OF 50: Kit includes a total of 50 objects that can be sorted into 10 different categories, including food, animals, and vehiclesHANDS ON LEARNING: Children learn through interaction and this set allows children to sort through objects to determine where each belongsSKILL BUILDING: Aids in develo...
🎓 Reddit experts on mathematics & counting toys
The comments and opinions expressed on this page are written exclusively by redditors. To provide you with the most relevant data, we sourced opinions from the most knowledgeable Reddit users based the total number of upvotes and downvotes received across comments on subreddits where mathematics & counting toys are discussed. For your reference and for the sake of transparency, here are the specialists whose opinions mattered the most in our ranking.
Hey! I was diagnosed with ADHD a little over a year ago. I used to think I was INFP but now I think I'm ENFP.
Anyway, I find that my biggest challenges are with concentration, persistence, and emotional regulation. Some things I've found that help me:
I hope some of this was helpful and what you were looking for!
Edit: To add to that, I just watched this beautiful TEDxTalk: ADHD sucks, but not really
TL;DR - You can encourage your child to speak more frequently and fluently with behavioral reinforcement.
Sorry for the long post. I don't know what support your child has received/is receiving, so this may not be very relevant.
I have worked with a child with autism for over two years now. She was seven when I began working with her and had a similar speech pattern to what you described. She is also diagnosed with hyperlexia. She specifically had great trouble with who/what/when/where/why/which/how questions.
I first started with a simple token economy to reinforce "appropriate" speech. I used these bears as her tokens and placed them on a piece of paper on which I had printed a series of squares that were just larger than the base of the bear. I would ask her simple questions. If she answered them correctly, she would "earn a bear," and I would place it on a square for her. Once she filled a row with bears, she could trade them in for a high-preference activity. We would spend a few minutes on the trampoline or listen to a song or video and get back to work.
At first, she earned one bear for each answer, and she could trade them in when she had earned five. Within a day or two I was sure that she understood the system and moved up to ten. Within a week or two she had to earn 15 before she could have play time.
Throughout the process, I also conditioned her to be reinforced by the sound of me scooping a bear out of the bucket. I would intentionally have them make noise when I picked one up. Over the course of a few weeks, I worked to the point of:
This way, she answered many questions before earning play time.
When she was well adapted to this program, I began implementing punishment for "inappropriate" speech, which we called "chanting." When she would begin repeating phrases or speaking in sing-song, I would remind her to respond correctly. If she repeated the behavior, I would remove a bear.
The questions that I asked began as simple ones. We would often look at photo flash cards and talk about the pictures. I began by asking the simplest questions possible:
When she began to master these simple questions, I began adding in more difficult ones:
I continued to increase the difficulty of questions until I could simply ask her to describe or tell me about the image.
I had accepted one-word responses at the beginning, but began encouraging multi-word responses or complete sentences when this became easy. If she answered with a phrase or sentence, I would give a bear immediately. When she used a single word, I would tell her a sentence using that word and have her repeat it before (possibly) getting her token.
I did this for 30-90 minutes a day, five days a week, for about five months. We trailed off over the next several months and spent more time working on other skills until we did not do this at all anymore. Her language improved drastically in this time, but it did not develop her conversational ability. It brought her to the point that she could respond to questions and instructions with much more consistency than before. Because of this growth, she was able to begin classes in a general education setting with my assistance. Toward the end of the school year, she began occasionally initiating conversations with schoolmates on her own. Throughout the next school year, her interest and ability to speak with peers has continued to increase. This may be greatly due to her great interest in socializing and having friends, but your child definitely has hope.
Kid most recent fav is
Educational Insights Raccoon Rumpus Game https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ATWSQR8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_p3YKAbD0B4JSW
He loves this one since he was 18 mths and still plays it weekly
ThinkFun Roll and Play Game for Toddlers https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0070A9OUA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_S4YKAbHTXCEA0
He also loves
HiHo! Cherry-O Game https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D8VHIOE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_C5YKAb4CTGWSV
My niece loves
Educational Insights The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FNK6P6U/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_f6YKAb98Y9BHF
Lookup educational insight games on amazon or on the educational insight site and they have fun games - i find amazon has good prices on them.
My 3 yr old also loves kinetic sand.
This is the next one on my list for him since he now loves dinosaurs
Dinosaur Escape https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S288BKI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_wbZKAbRVN5AKM
Is anyone willing to share their kids' absolute favorite toys/games/crafting supplies? (We have two girls ages 4 & 7.) I'm trying to be a lot more selective to avoid the toymaggedon that invariably happens every year when we end up with a lot of crap they don't care about or play with. And I refuse to get on the LOL doll/Pikmi Pops bandwagon because they are fun for the 3 minutes they spend opening them and then zero interest afterwards.
I'll share a few of our favorites in case anyone else is in the same boat:
7 y.o. loves: Uno (card game), Math Slam game,
4 y.o. loves: Melissa & Doug housekeeping set, M&D play kitchen
Both girls are obsessed with drawing/coloring with oil pastels
Family games we all love playing together: HeadBanz, Zingo, Monopoly Junior,
Base-10 blocks are great for this!
Start by making sure she's comfortable with the ones blocks. Put several in front of her and ask her to count them out and write down her answer. Then write down a smallish number and ask her to collect that many ones blocks.
Use this same process with some numbers in the teens. Then introduce the tens blocks and help her understand how to use as many tens and few ones as possible to represent a number. Help her understand this is what determines which digit appears in each place value of the written number.
Clear the table and put down 7 or so cubes. Ask her to keep adding 1 cube and writing out the new count. If she doesn't replace 10 cubes with a 10-valued stick sometime after passing 10 (or 20 or 30 if you're both patient enough), ask her when she could have started using the 10-valued sticks.
Once it's clear she's got a good intuition for the mapping between the base-10 written form and the cubes/sticks, hide the cubes and do the same exercises with the sticks and 100s squares. After it's clear she's caught on to the carry-over effect between the 10s place and the 100s place, add the cubes back to the mix.
Basically it sounds like she's struggling with the notion of place value and the relationships between adjacent place values.
Ooo I've heard awesome things about the Raspberry Pi. Definitely not a coder, though! lol, so I'll leave that to you. :D
As for me, I'm designing my own boardgame at the moment! I'm big into writing and games, so this is the perfect blend for that.
My item would be this bin of centimeter blocks! These are SUPER useful when designing a game so you can lay out pieces, resources, etc. And then use real nice pieces for the finished product.
So my current obsession is boardgames, and color blocks are my item! :P
Thanks for the contest!
3.14
Cuisinaire rods
Geoboards
Algebra tiles
Pan Balance
Sensors, maybe the motion detector or the accelerometer? It might be better to use a local supplier, but they have a cool list.
There's lots of little things you probably have, such as stopwatches, meter sticks, measuring wheels, counting tiles and so on that can be used creatively. For example, I like this lesson about slope that uses a scale. It would also be useful to use some of the money to build a library of books/lesson ideas based around the materials themselves. I second the document camera idea and the mini-whiteboard suggestion. Cheers!
I have done this for cruises a couple ways. I took a game box about the size of a Ticket to Ride box and collapsed about 20 games into it. It was pretty compact and you could definitely use a smaller box to fit and compact more games in.
The other way that was a bit easier and lighter was I took a 500 card count deck box and put 4 decks of cards in it: A rage deck, 2 decks of playing cards, and a pyramid deck (I used a Great Dalmuti deck for this one). I then used the rest of the space to fill with counters using these plastic cubes. You could also magic marker values on some of them for specific games. Jaipur is one that could come to mind.
There are geeklists like this one where people have figured out how to get creative with rage decks. With the playing card decks you can find a cheap playing card games book, and a book like all the Pairs variants for the pyramid deck.
Melissa and Doug has a ton of activity boards to choose from; here are a couple:
My daughter (now 2) has always loved putting things away, taking things out and putting them back, etc. If you would give her blocks to play with, she wouldn't usually build - she'd take them out of the box one by one, and put them back one by one. Her favorite "toys" would be me buying a bunch of cheap balls and giving her a shoebox to put them into.
As she's gotten older, we started making her sort things by color or shape, kind of like this toy, so maybe your son would like that kind of toy. She also loves wood puzzles.
At 5, my kid could play in the bath for half an hour with minimal observation.
Hide exactly 100 pennies in some room of the house. Have him count and look for them. Teach him to change pennies out for dimes for every ten. This helps with counting to 100 and counting by tens. In a month or two teach him to switch out nickles for every five pennies.
My daughter has these Inchimal toys. She plays with them for about half an hour at a time whenever I break them out.
https://www.amazon.com/Fat-Brain-Toys-FA038-1-Inchimals/dp/B00392NSI2/ref=sr_1_1?gclid=Cj0KCQjwl8XtBRDAARIsAKfwtxBvv83MyfvX49DemaJrFzdKB8D8tWQnQ4sMzMSwRwRKQfo_62a5ZKEaAj1VEALw_wcB&amp;hvadid=178132544843&amp;hvdev=c&amp;hvlocphy=9016348&amp;hvnetw=g&amp;hvpos=1t1&amp;hvqmt=b&amp;hvrand=5340824133591375959&amp;hvtargid=aud-647006051489%3Akwd-30511461924&amp;hydadcr=27097_10153247&amp;keywords=inchimals+by+fat+brain+toys&amp;qid=1571935022&amp;sr=8-1
We also enjoy our toy cash register.
If you are open to electronics, I'd set him up with an episode of Cosmic Yoga for Kids on Youtube. I'm dealing with a chronic illness and don't always have the energy to keep my kid active. This is a lifesaver for me.
IMHO this concept is best taught with manipulatives, like so: http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Resources-Plastic-Base-Starter/dp/B000F8VBBO
Really good for enhancing visual math thinking and can be introduced to the child gradually through play.
Crazy idea, but what about a Lords of Waterdeep style game? Not sure if you have played, but it's a fun game.
You can get a bucket of 500 misc colored cubes from amazon for $13.
Get some poster board, or something, and have the kids draw maps of the world. Block off certain sections, and each one of these areas of the world will produce goods (cubes)...you could say each cube represents: produce, technology, raw materials, "education." ...I don't know, something like that. Kids take turns placing units, and getting those resources.
Create a few "quest" cards (cure polio, space exploration, disaster relief, etc.) that need various amounts of resources to complete. Maybe a system where the kids could "invest" in certain areas which would allow those areas to produce more goods.
...just rambling here...
https://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Compass-Classroom-Geometry-10-Inches-x/dp/B005HYOIUW
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By far my favorite. I don't love the safe-drawing compasses so much so I make sure to order a class set of these every few years or so. They are sturdy and can be used with any pencil or pen. They can be a little finicky but I think once you get used to them they're great.
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Some downsides: the point is pretty sharp so there are some worst case scenarios that will go through any teachers mind. I've used them with diverse populations of students - honors kids and then those kids that screw around a lot and have never had any problems.
Yes!! Sooooo many fraction manipulatives!!!!!! I’ve listed three that we use in the classroom but there are so many more if you just type fraction manipulative into Amazon. Tell her to have fun shopping!
Learning Advantage 7992 F.U.N. Empty Number Line System https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S2XQA9W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Y54CAbQRY00DV
Didax Educational Resources Fraction Squares https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B9L359M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_164CAbEA9VPR5
Eight-Sided Fraction Dice, Set of 5 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N4BX3MH/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_o84CAb4KS04ZQ
Did anyone else play the 24 card game as a kid? My math teacher always had us play it in middle school. Basically, you get flash cards with four numbers, and you have to figure out how to get to 24. Say, the numbers are 3, 5, 2, and 7. 7 x 3 = 21 + 5 = 26 - 2 = 24.
Anyway, this sub has inspired me to do that with pretty much every set of numbers now, in a quest to get to 69.
>once they're sitting down for lunch they dont wanna stay seated, they will get up to go play in the middle of eating
I got a timer from amazon that we use during our mealtime. While the light is green, it is time to eat/drink (or at least stay in their chair). Once it's flashing yellow, they can either continue to eat or pack up their food and move to the reading corner. Once it's red, it's time for everyone to pack up. This is for a class of 3/4s so it may have to be adapted somewhat to fit your kiddos, but it's been a huge improvement for us over last year without it!
Pandemic is great for cubes.
For other things it depends on what you want. I am using catan houses in a prototype right now, and before I used an othello board/tokens for something else.
One thing that I have is a bunch of circular colored tokens. (something like this https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Resources-LER0131-Transparent-Counting/dp/B00004WKPM IDK where I got mine)
and a bunch of dice in ten colors. I got this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074C8N5XG/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&amp;pd_rd_i=B074C8N5XG&amp;pd_rd_wg=Y6rqd&amp;pd_rd_r=5YFCCSC3XA4CFKBSB0HV&amp;pd_rd_w=yuvJX two of the dice had a little extra paint on the two side that made them look like a three at a glance, so I threw them away. Still got 98 dice though.
WOOD
Cool notebook
Teachers Carry All
Love Math
Chinese jumprope at recess
School Sloth Would Be the Best Mascot
Favorite Lunch Snack
Favorite Picture Book Peanuts Rock!
Cute Cool Backpack
Waiting for Dinner
Bonus 1
In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson.
edit: forgot number 3
There's this, but probably may be too expensive:
https://www.amazon.com/Primary-Concepts-Category-Sorting-Learning/dp/B00JEVJOJO
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Also, you could try buying some trinkets off of websites like: https://www.dinkydoodads.com/ or The Speech Tree Co on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SpeechTreeCo?ref=pr2018_faveshops
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However, the caveat with both of these choices is that there are many small parts, so you really need to watch the kiddoes while using them. :)
The card game 24! My fifth graders really struggled at first and within a few days, they were k i l l i n g i t. They'd come up with really complex gorgeous solutions I hadn't even found! https://www.amazon.com/24-Game-Single-Digit-cards/dp/B002AODZFQ
Set is another fun game that serves the same general purpsoe.
I miss having a 3 year old! We started with the earliest Singapore Math stuff around then. I made it very gentle. Oh, also, these things https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Resources-Plastic-Base-Starter/dp/B000F8VBBO are the greatest things ever. We used them for years to try out different concepts in math.
This does me justice. If you want something more creative, try what /u/namgorf said with miniature market or buy some Warhammer 4000 miniatures and paint them yourself. It's up to you.
"But I have a lot of outdoors combat so this comes up a lot."
For outdoor encounters, I generally don't roll out the battlemat until combat is a sure thing. Unless there's some kind of kill-on-sight order or racial enmity, most fights don't start until both sides have had a chance to exchange words, well within 30' of each other.
So, it sounds like you're setting up a lot of encounters where either one side is ambushing the other, or the majority of encounters are solved by combat so there's no reason to approach to comfortable speaking distance. That's generally not the experience at my table (my players like talking but rarely plan ahead), so I can't say my solution addresses your "a lot" case.
In cases where one side is attempting to ambush another at longbow ranges or when I want to set up huge battlefields, I'll use a battlemat scaled so 1cm = 5' (rather than 1" = 5'), and then use centimeter cubes to represent Medium humanoids, standard 1" minis or tokens for Large size creatures, etc. This requires prep work, but like I said the long-range encounters are the exception rather than the rule with my group.
You could also run combat theater-of-the-mind style until the sides engage each other at a range that can be represented with your standard battlemat.
I have been using 1" plastic squares that I got on Amazon. I'd seen a few Kickstarters for stampers to put a pattern onto bases. I figured I could make my own.
I used the Clay to make my positive. I made one of a cobblestone and another of bricks. They are much larger than the size of the base so that I can use any portion to create the impression.
I then used this low melting point plastic. Soften it up and then press it into the clay pattern. Now I have a negative that I can use over and over.
I then got some Green Stuff. Put it on my 1" square base and then gently press into my negative image. Now I have a positive and I can let that setup and glue/pin my mini to the base.
Get a set of little plastic animals - something like this, or even more exotic like this. Combine with blocks or paper+crayons for endless zoo building, animal battles, races, parades, etc. Plastic dinosaurs work great for this too.
EDIT: Also, never underestimate the creative potential of a big ol' cardboard box!
Hi date twin! We're doing the DIY little gold animals, with this as inspiration. Bought buckets of safari animals ($18 for 60) and wire picture holders ($15 for 48) from Amazon. Plan is to spray them with Krylon gold metallic paint.
I like Pathfinder Pawns, but they don't work for everything (and are still pricey to collect).
I have 1", 2", and 3" wooden circles and 1", 2", and 3" hole punches. I print off the minis on card stock, punch them out, and glue them onto a wooden circle of appropriate size.
I also have some multicolored counting chips that I can write numbers on for large groups of monsters. They also double as status effects when needed.
Essentially, I go through the pawns first, but they don't always have everything, so then I go to printing.. but sometimes if I have a pawn of it, I'll just use the one pawn, then use the tokens for the rest of them. One representation is good enough usually.
I remember this as well. Two of the dice were colored differently - one giving multiples of 10 (10-60) and the other giving 1-6. You'd combine these to get a 2-digit target number (30 + 4 = 34). The challenge was to use the rest of the dice (single digits, maybe 1-6 or maybe different combinations of 0-9) in some mathematical combination to achieve the target. So if the numbers were 1-2-5-5-6, you could go 5x6 + 1 + 5 - 2 = 34.
EDIT: found one for sale on Amazon
Well, this is Awesomely Randomly Random
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Which counters? Are you talking about the digital ones? It's just a calculator.
There's stuff like these: http://www.amazon.com/Richards-Company-Counter-Finger-SPR24100/dp/B0008GOGI8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1457999673&amp;sr=8-3&amp;keywords=counters
or just small tokens
http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Resources-Transparent-Color-Counting/dp/B00004WKPM/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1457999673&amp;sr=8-5&amp;keywords=counters
If he's going to be making his own cards, get him a corner rounder. It adds such a professional touch to have crisply rounded corners on cards. You might also get him one of those tubs of colored wooden cubes/primitive meeples as I have found that merely having some meeples (even if i know they aren't my final choice) is really inspiring to the game design process.
Set of 500 cubes https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000QDTVFG/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_9TR4wbGDN5EXN
Corner rounder: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000WWIPEE/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_XWR4wbKRGC9KT
Also useful: http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Resources-Square-Color-Tiles/dp/B000F8T9B8/ref=pd_sim_op_1?ie=UTF8&amp;refRID=06E9HTDG7WVV36TVK1AG
Yep! Math Magic Mixer! Here's a newer model.
Legos
221 pc Lego BrickRed Go-KartSpiderman vs. ElectroSleeping BeautyGames
Monopoly JuniorBattleshipI purchased a a bucket of these. They have come in very handy for all kinds of games, including print and play games.
edit: Just looking around amazon, I also found these not really cheap but there is a bunch of colors. Each color looks to be sold seperately for $5
You can get 500 plastic cubes for $12 on amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/CENTIMETER-CUBES-500-PK-10-COLORS/dp/B000QDTVFG
If you want wood, it's $5 for 50:
http://www.amazon.com/Craftwood-Wooden-Cubes-56-Pkg-Multicolor/dp/B007LAWO60
I only own of a couple of these, but if I were to throw a prototyping jam I would get:
Color Sharpies
Blank Boards
Blank Cards
Blank Tokens
Pawns
Counters
Dice
I think that would cover 95% of anything you'd want!
Colored plastic tokens are $5.60 on Amazon, you can write in them with a sharpie or erasable marker.
[Learning tokens] (https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00004WKPM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_sbfHAbT0B0Q9R)
My school used these!!
i use these: https://www.amazon.ca/Learning-Resources-Centimeter-Cubes-Set/dp/B000QDTVFG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1486078880&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=counting+cubes
Counting chips
Learning Resources Transparent Color Counting Chips, Set of 250 Assorted Colored Chips, Ages 5+ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004WKPM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_-XoRDbAK621V7
Here you go: https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Resources-Centimeter-Cubes-Set/dp/B000QDTVFG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1479863937&amp;sr=8-4&amp;keywords=counting+cubes
I don't know what a 3D graphic class is but it reminds me of the base ten blocks I used in elementary school to learn math!
Learning cubes for generic cubes.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000F8XF86/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1/179-1892885-6232712?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&amp;pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&amp;pf_rd_r=1PJFRS180FCPV0XDPG1S&amp;pf_rd_t=201&amp;pf_rd_p=1944687542&amp;pf_rd_i=B0006PKZ7W
I found these really familiar 'counters' online. maybe you are remembering parts of counting lessons when the teacher used physical pieces to count with?
I've been using these colored counting chips:
https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Resources-Transparent-Color-Counting/dp/B00004WKPM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1465596815&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=colored+discs
Cheap and small. The transparency does make them harder to see if they're in a pile. And you'd have to remember what color is what denomination.
You can also try pennies/nickels/quarters as someone else suggested.
For our campaigns our group uses the miniatures for our characters, and those colored circles for enemies. These ones specifically.
Then I bought some small star stickers and used a sharpie to write numbers on them so we can keep track of hp. Different colors === different enemies.
Edit: we also use the lids to the dice containers for large creatures and three jenga blocks for huge