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in Math Activities

Hands-On Math: Clay Number Manipulatives

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We love using manipulatives for hands-on educational activities, but I’m not always happy with what is available commercially. I wanted small clay number manipulatives that both had numbers but that could also be used for counting and illustrating math in a concrete way.

One night, we came up with the idea to make clay number manipulatives from baking clay. We’ve used these clay button numbers to make manipulative arrays, hands-on division, Venn diagrams, skip counting, and several other projects we haven’t blogged about.

Add these math challenges to your list of fun math activities for kids!

You’ll also want to check out the ultimate list of summer STEM activities and the ultimate list of summer science experiments. 

 

Looking for hands-on math activities? These homemade clay number manipulatives are perfect for learning a wide variety of math concepts!Clay Number Manipulatives (perfect for hands-on math activities)

Use this simple tutorial to make your own clay number manipulatives for hands-on math activities!

Looking for hands-on math activities? These homemade clay number manipulatives are perfect for learning a wide variety of math concepts!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.  

Supplies

  • Baking clay (we used rainbow colors)
  • 9X13 inch glass pan
  • Permanent markers
  • Wax paper (we used this to keep our table from getting all discolored and messy from the clay)

Pinch off a piece of clay about 1-4 of an inch big. Roll into a small ball about the size of a toddler’s fingernail. Make 10 balls for each color.

Place the balls in a row inside your glass baking pan. Heat the oven according to your clay’s package directions.
Squish the balls with your thumb to about 1/4 of an inch thick (we used a piece of plastic wrap over our thumbs to prevent as many fingerprints). They should look like buttons at this point, without the holes.Looking for hands-on math activities? These homemade clay number manipulatives are perfect for learning a wide variety of math concepts!

Place in the oven and bake (we had to bake ours for about 15 minutes). Allow your clay buttons to cool completely.

When the buttons are cool, write a number on each button. We did 1-9 and a 0 for each color. We had 8 colors, equaling 80 buttons, but I think I would do 100 if I did this project again. 100 is a nice, round number.

We’ve used our clay number manipulatives to skip count, in multiplication arrays, to divide, and for any other math project we think needs a bit of spicing up.

These manipulatives are surprisingly sturdy and even Bo has used them (although I don’t recommend using them with toddlers who might try to eat and swallow them).Looking for hands-on math activities? These homemade clay number manipulatives are perfect for learning a wide variety of math concepts!

More Hands-On Math Activity IdeasLooking for hands-on math activities? These homemade clay number manipulatives are perfect for learning a wide variety of math concepts!

Looking for PEEPs activities for kids? These three PEEPs STEAM activities are perfect for kids of all ages and are the perfect way to use uneaten PEEPs. Looking for bubble wrap activities for preschool? This fun bubble wrap number hopscotch game is a fun way to introduce numbers using gross motor function.

Wondering what you need for homeschooling math? These essential supplies for homeschooling math offer a great place to start.
Tired of playing everyday Uno? Want a way to make it more educational? This Uno math game is a simple way to bring some math fun to playtime!

Want to learn more about dice probability? This Venn diagram dice probability STEM activity is perfect for teaching the basics of probability to kids.

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Filed Under: Math Activities Tagged With: counting, division, elementary, multiplication

About Brenda Priddy

Brenda grew up thinking she hated science.

But when her 4-year- old daughter was more interested in reading science facts than fairy tales, Brenda realized she had to learn more about science to keep up with her daughter.

Through simple at-home science experiments, Brenda developed a passion for science and now acts as an advocate for STEM education for kids at her website STEAMsational.com.

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What is STEAM?

STEAM activities for kids promote the idea that science, technology, engineering, art, and math can all work together to help kids become critical thinkers, problem solvers, and innovators!

Join us on our journey to discover just how much fun science experiments can be.

What we do… 

STEAMsational offers STEM and science lesson plans and teaching resources to provide a firm STEM foundation for children in the classroom or home.

All you need to do is find your supplies, gather your scientists, and let the innovation unfold.

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