If you’ve ever been to my workshops, thenyou have seen me demonstrate the highway letters that you can download freefrom makinglearningfun.com. Didyou know that you could also download numerals? You could put these in clear sheet protectors and letchildren roll play dough and put it on the numeral. They could also drive cars over the numerals or use dryerase markers to trace (and then erase) the numerals.
If you punch holes at the top and tie onstring you can let the children wear the number vests to demonstrate countingrhymes, numerical order, inequalities, number sentences, tens and ones, etc.
A good way to help children rememberdifferent 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 aroundthe room for the number that would make them a friend of a number the teachercalled out.
*Hint! Ask a parent volunteer to copy the highway letters, numbers,and shapes and you’ll save yourself an ink cartridge.
