Purchase a variety of rubber gloves for use in the activity. Select a variety of colors from your local medical supply store. If any children in your class have a latex allergy, be sure to purchase the latex-free variety.
Develop a worksheet of math problems for your lesson. You might choose to focus on simple addition or subtraction or a combination of both. Select five to 10 problems for your worksheet to keep the assignment manageable for young children.
Introduce the manipulatives to the children. It is important to show the students the gloves and how they will be safely used during this lesson. Ask each student to blow up the glove and tie it off at the bottom.
Pass out the worksheet and instruct students to use the glove as their "hand" for counting, rather than their own fingers. Demonstrate the use of the gloves as manipulatives for the students using a sample math problem. If the problem requires more than five fingers, allow students to have more than one glove at their desk.
Collect the worksheets from students and use these to evaluate their addition and subtraction skills. Note any consistent issues with a certain addition or subtraction concept.
Place extra gloves in your math center so that students can use these for future addition and subtraction lessons in your classroom.