Sunday, August 26, 2007

Learning: 100s Board for Math

OK, I admit it -- I'm cheap! I just couldn't see paying about $50 to get a magnetic 100s board for my littles to use for practicing counting, math facts, multiplication concepts, etc. Surely I could do the same for less ....
So, I bought an 11x14 mark-n-wipe board (magnetic), a roll of magetic "tape", 1" square wood "tiles" and proceeded to make my own version -- all for less than $20.
I first made a 10x10 grid (roughly one-inch squares) using a permanent marker and ruler on the mark-n-wipe board. I numbered the grid from 1-100.
I cut 1/2-3/4 inch pieces from the magnet roll. The white paper is easily peeled off to allow for sticking the magnet to the wood squares.
The wood tiles are then placed on the board to cover the number-grid.
Here's the grid, filled with the wooden tiles. There are many uses for this grid -- here, I've shown BamBam how to count by 5s ... you can also use the board to learn to count to 100, count by any multiple, count backwards, teach multiplication concepts, etc.

You could also get colored wood "tiles", but I like the natural simplicity of these unfinished tiles ... what do you think? Any suggestions for other uses of the board?

3 comments:

Unknown said...

This is soooo cool!!! I love to save money, I will have to try these! Thanks for the GREAT idea!!
Cheryl

Mary Machado said...

I like it!

Theresa said...

Excellent! We love our hundred board activities. They are also great for sharpening mental math skills. Have them put their finger on a number (say 15) and follow along as you give oral directions quickly, such as "add 10, subtract four, divide by three, multiply by two, add one. Where are you?" My ds loves these.