Virtual Math Manipulatives

My sister came over today asking to use the base 10 blocks I had to help her son understand what the numbers look like. It just so happened that I had a bunch from a kit I had purchased, but not everyone has access to these things or wants to store them. The internet is such an amazing tool and is so helpful. You no longer have to spend hundreds of dollars to build up a stock of manipulatives for kids to use so they can see and understand their math.

Virtual Manipulatives can be very helpful. The mess is easy to clean up (you hit the red x and everything disappears). Most kids will be using these in a classroom so they will all ready know how to play with them on-line. They will also help kids see what they are doing with the numbers and shapes so they can better understand the abstract symbols and concepts.


I really liked this Virtual Manipulative site. It's done by McGraw Hill Education. I really liked the backgrounds, the organization, and that you could change the grade to get age appropriate materials for your child.

The Base 10 blocks are great for expanded notation, understanding what number symbols mean and look like, and can help kids understand why we regroup when adding and subtracting large numbers. 

Geoboards are fun to play with but also teach a lot about shapes.

I didn't post a picture of the backgrounds but they are really neat. They will make story problems come alive.

When you use this site first give your child time to play around with the materials. They will not only learn how to use the site and where the materials are listed, there also won't be as many arguments and playing when it is time to work.