Researchers Robert Hartshorn and Sue Boren refer to math manipulatives as “objects that can be touched and moved by students to introduce or reinforce a mathematical concept.” Therefore, when deciding on which manipulative you will make to teach math concepts to your child it is important that you do not limit your choices for materials. There is no right or wrong manipulative; what matters is simply what works best for your child.
When creating your manipulatives, consider your child's learning style. Children who are auditory learners may benefit from a manipulative such as drum for counting, while a kinesthetic learner may prefer mats to hop on as he counts and the visual learner may work best with eye-catching cutouts with numbers on them.
Decide which math concept you will be focusing on when you create your manipulative. If you are working on addition, counters made from colored pasta will work well, while a collection of rocks may work better for teaching geometrical concepts.
Also consider ways to create cross-curricular connections among the other subjects your child is studying. Your child may find a math concept easier to grasp if he is able to relate it to other material. For example, creating a model of the solar system will not only provide science instruction but also the opportunity to explore mathematical concepts such as classification, size and shape.
Before creating a homemade math game for your child, decide which math concepts you would like it to cover. If she has just begun to learn about addition, you can design a board game that requires her to solve a simple problem in order to move forward in the game. The purpose of the game is to reinforce the skill that she is learning in a fun and challenging way without making it seem like work.
As you create your math game, go beyond traditional choices such as board, card and dice games. A homemade math game can be as simple as a treasure hunt around the home for objects of a certain shape or size. As long as the game you design has a clear learning objective and you can easily assess the outcome to decide if your child has gained the desired knowledge from the activity, it can be as traditional or as free-form as you choose.