Mathematics manipulatives – like library books – need to be treated with care. Remember the first rule of Kindy – “Clean up your own mess!”
I visited one school storeroom and saw a bunch of measuring tapes in a lonely, dusty box. They were tangled, in all different lengths (1m and 1.5 m) – some even were in imperial units!
Guess how many are in this box? Closest gets a prize
To help teachers sort out their maths gear and choose the right manipulatives in the first place I have created an online Encyclopedia of mathematics manipulatives.
I would like to acknowledge the support of Edx Education (http://www.edxeducation.com/) who supplied us with hundreds of photographs (they also manufacture the ever loved cards and many of the manipulatives we have on the site).
Competition time!
I would love to see photos of your storeroom!
Best Storeroom Award
- Show us your shiny, clean, organised and envy-inducing store room (Make sure to hold up a piece of paper in the picture with your name so we know its your photo!)
- Email your picture to paul@drpaulswan.com.au with the subject “storeroom competition entry”
- Prize: Your choice of any 5 of the books in the Manipulative Manual series
Best Transformation
- Show us your old ugly-duckling-turned-beautiful-swan of a storeroom (if your storeroom needs a cleanup now’s the time for that spring clean!)
- Prize: Your choice of any 5 of the books in the Manipulative Manual series
How Many Tapes?
- Guess the number! Prize: A book
Competition runs until October 19 with Prizes chosen thereafter.
