Count on It
Ready
- A long piece of string, a rope, or a tension rod
- Several empty paper towel rolls/toilet paper rolls
- Scissors
- Tape
Set
- Create a DIY abacus by cutting paper towel/toilet paper rolls into 10 segments.
- String the 10 segments onto your piece of rope, string, or rod.
- Attach either end to something solid (e.g. abacus two chairs or the wall).
- You can continuously adjust the number of segments that you use to appropriately challenge and meet your little one where they are.
Play!
- Practice sliding each segment from one side to the other. You may count the sections out loud, or not.
- Use your “abacus” to visually represent numerical quantities. Some ideas include:
- How many pancakes do you want?
- How old are you?
- We are leaving in five minutes.
- How many napkins will we need to set the table for dinner?
Play your way! What else can you do with your new abacus?
Why Play This Way?
Raise your hand if you grew up disliking math? (Hopefully not everyone). We believe that when very young children encounter opportunities to experience and learn about math through play, they will recognize that puzzling through mathematical challenges is fun and rewarding. Specifically, we love that this tool can make transition times smoother by providing a visual representation of time.
Better with a Book
At LᐧMᐧNᐧOᐧPlay!, we love to pair our play with a great book.
