Number Cards & Counters

A few days back, a bit of my Amy Butler fabric, some lovely ladybug buttons from Reprodepot, and some heavyweight interfacing somehow turned themselves into storage cases for the number cards 1-10! Perhaps I'll put together a tutorial one day ... or maybe I'll offer these for sale when I move back to the U.S. and start up my Etsy shop! (But don't start twiddling your thumbs now - I won't be moving back state-side until summer of 2008. Even though I'd love to start making and selling right now, I have ZERO confidence in the rural Mexican postal service - for all I know, they might still use burros!)

In the meantime, here's how you can put together your own Number Cards and Counters material:

1.) Write the numbers 1-10 on 10 wooden blocks, or other material of your choice. Anything done on card stock should be laminated.
2.) Make some sort of storage case for the numbers, using these pics as inspiration, or make a small drawstring bag following Karla's tutorial.
3.) Collect several sets of "counters." You will need 55 of each item for each set. I suggest using pennies, cowrie shells, and pretty beads.
4.) You'll need a bag or box for the counters, as well.
5.) Make a control chart for this work.
6.) The child will lay out the number cards in order, and check the order with the control chart. Then the child places the number of counters called for by the card directly underneath the card.

Here's another idea - why not make more number cards, but this time write out the numbers (one, two, three, four, five, etc.) This is a nice way to meld math and language work. For an older child, you could also have a set of roman numeral cards. Bilingual? Write out the number cards in the other language (uno, dos, tres.) Or, tie this work to the cultural material. Learn the symbols for 1-10 in Chinese, Japanese, or Arabic, and ... you guessed it ... make number cards for these as well. In this case, I suggest having your counters correspond with the culture represented in the cards. For example, use coins from that country, beads from the region, or a mineral/rock that is particularly abundant there.

I'll post a new song tomorrow. In the meantime, happy counting!

Peace,
Meg