Do you have any suggestions for math manipulatives for a 2 year old? So far I have abacus, coins, and oversized buttons. I am trying to beef up my kid’s math. Thank you.
Anything and everything - the stairs your child climbs, the food he/she eats, toys, duplos, legos, containers to pour with of different sizes, rulers and anything you can measure with, a clock, wooden blocks, cutlery, anything you can make patterns out of, a shape sorter or set of plastic shapes, a balance scale (these are fun at this age) - but just the kitchen scale can be fun too, puzzles (shape ones as well as normal jigsaw puzzles), a set with printed numerals. That is all I can think of right now, but really - anything can be used as a math manipulative.
We have several math manipulatives, some of them are especially helpful to explain the same concept differently, so I make sure my son has fully understood it. Others are have been rarely used, I will only mention our own “must-haves” at the age of 2.
1- IMHO the single MOST important manipulative is a slavonic abacus. We have been using it every day for more than 2 years now (DS is 2y 10m). The slavonic abacus is available on Amazon or from RightStart Math (if you’re planning to use their curriculum, which is excellent). Here are 2 examples to give you an idea if you aren’t already familiar with:
You can start by showing quantities from 1 to 5, then 6 to 10, then just the 10s, etc. That will help your LO learn subitizing (visit ALabacus.com for more info). You can then count by 1s, 2s, 5s and 10s forwards and backwards. If these facts are mastered very well, you can start teaching addition and subtraction which will be a breeze.
Other manipulatives that we used frequently when DS was 2 are:
2- Homemade 100 chart: I attached a copy here: http://forum.brillkids.com/teaching-your-child-math/what-are-you-doing-with-your-2-year-olds-for-math/msg86256/#msg86256
3- A number line: simply printed and laminated
4- A magnetic number set: http://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-Magnetic-Wooden-Numbers/dp/B000IBRD74/ref=sr_1_sc_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1375306389&sr=8-3-spell&keywords=melissa+magnetic+numbe
5- RightStart math cards from 1-10 with abacus beads, fingers, tally sticks, and double dots (you can make your own or purchase them here: http://store.rightstartmath.com/rightstartand153mathematicslevelsaandbappendices.aspx ). We also used these cards from Winnipeg School District that have ten frame and domino dots on them: http://www.edplus.canterbury.ac.nz/literacy_numeracy/maths/numdocuments/dot_card_and_ten_frame_package2005.pdf You can flash them to your LO in the beginning, then he/she can make “trains” by arranging the cards in a certain order. He/she can also match the cards (for example, ten frame with fingers, etc.). You can also guide him/ her to play memory or any other game you come up with.
These are the most important manipulatives that worked for us. We added many other afterwards like cuisenaire rods, base 10, measuring sets, scale, money set, etc. Just make sure there is no choking hazard for your LO.
Also, you may use the printables from this website: http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mepres/primary/default.htm#reception
It’s a free yet solid math curriculum. Many parents on this forum are using it, you can search for older threads about it. Also, there are 3 very helpful threads about toddler math with many suggestions for manipulatives:
- What are you doing with your 2 year olds for math - http://forum.brillkids.com/teaching-your-child-math/what-are-you-doing-with-your-2-year-olds-for-math/msg86987/?topicseen
- Math curriculum for toddlers - http://forum.brillkids.com/teaching-your-child-math/math-curriculum-for-toddlers/msg86268/?topicseen
- Pick just one program to teach toddler math - http://forum.brillkids.com/teaching-your-child-math/pick-just-1-program-to-teach-toddler-math/msg86460/?topicseen
Dominos, playing cards, dice.
Measuring spoons and cups.
Fantastic suggestions, everyone! Thank you so much!
Few suggestions:
Walmart and Target: Walmart and Target have sales after Easter, Halloween, Valentine’s Day and Christmas. Prices are marked up to 90% down. I love these sales, you can pick up foam stamps, plastic spiders, bouncing balls, Easter eggs, cookie cutters, baskets and use them for you math tub. I picked up most things for a dollar or less and they have been of great use. And oh, every time I visit these stores for my grocery shopping I sneak in a Hot Wheels car which costs only 97 cents. But over a period of time you collect a lot of them. They have magnetic alphabets and numbers priced for only $1.27, much cheaper than Melissa and Doug.You can also use them for sight words.
Dollar Tree: This is a treasure house of manipulatives. Pom poms, erasers, ping pong balls,stickers, marbles…the list goes on. Check their kitchen section for spoons, scoops, tongs, turkey basters, kitchen timers, divided trays, egg platters, trays, placemats, ice cube trays to use along with your manipulatives.
orientaltrading.com : This site has a good collection of educational stuff. The prices are good, they have frequent sales, and few days a month they have free shipping days. I ordered an assortmenment of vinyl finger puppets from them, but was not happy with the repetitions and they refunded me the whole amount and I could even keep the puppets. They have good customer service.
I also use jelly beans, fruit loops, gummy fruit and so on, as we were also doing colors, motor skills etc. You can use them if your kids dont know its candy, mine dont so they dont eat 
. And whatever else you can collect, bottlecaps etc.
My kid’s favorite math manipulatives are the ones that come with Mathtacular. They especially love the bears. http://www.mathtacular.com/
My son took a liking to packs of tiny erasers that he got in he Target dollar section. He loves using those things.
I know this is controversial… But we also use food. Cheerios, blueberries, raisins, mini m&ms. We use them to enhance snack time.