I’ve found tactile number cards indispensable for teaching numbers. (Edit: I wrote this post seven years ago, I think. This child is dysgraphic. We wore out the tactic cards. However, EACH child loved the goldfish counting and I still do it. That one-to-one correspondence is easy cheesy that way. It’s in the MoDG pre-K books now too I think.)
The tactile number set above is from The Knowledge Tree and the set below is a traditional sandpaper set from Montessori Outlet.
It seems that the Knowledge Tree set are his favorite and have the added benefits of going all the way up to 30 and directional visuals for tracing the numerals.
The set below is the traditional Montessori sandpaper numbers, but as you can see, if you want to go ahead and teach the number 10, you have to put the 0 and the 1 card together. I’m undecided on how much I like the traditional sandpaper numbers…I think if had I only intended to teach 1-9, then 10-19, I would like them better. But as it is, they kind of tripped me up by not having a “10” card.
They certainly are “prettier” and while that’s really important in some activities with my kids, that attractiveness of these numbers didn’t make this any easier.
Additionally, the Knowledge Tree cards can also be used with food counters…as long as your food item is non-greasy and small. The homemade version you see in the above picture with the popcorn worked just fine. No purchase necessary.
