Cut the dates out of an old calendar page. The numbers can be sorted in a variety of ways to improve a child's concept of number sense. To begin, put the numbers in numerical order. You could also take a handful of numbers and have the child order them from least to greatest or greatest to least. Sort them in piles according whether they are single or double-digit numbers. Arrange them according to the digit that is in the tens place or in the ones place.
Inexpensive poker chips can be used to help students understand regrouping. Use white chips to represent the ones place, and use blue chips for the tens place. Practice exchanging ten white chips for one blue chip. You can also reverse it and exchange one blue chip for ten white chips. Once they have mastered the concept, students can then create their own numbers with chips to practice with each other.
Instead of counting with ordinary numbers, count in a way that emphasizes place value. For instance, if you are counting the number of students in the class, say that there are two tens and five ones. The class then has to determine what the number is. You can also play counting games with straws. Each player adds a straw, and when ten straws have been added, they can be grouped together with a rubber band.
Dimes and pennies are an excellent way to practice place value, because students will be learning to work with money at the same time. Begin by making stacks of ten pennies and practicing counting by tens. Then add a place value chart, and replace the ten pennies in the ones place with a dime in the tens place. Use this method to make a variety of numbers. The children will begin to understand that the amount of money is the same even when the number of coins has changed.