
Multisensory Math Hacks to Incorporate into your Homeschool Classroom
Multisensory Math Hacks to Incorporate into your Homeschool Classroom
Multisensory Math is something we love here at ShillerLearning. Counting, learning numbers, learning shapes and all types of mathematics become more fun when partnered with fun activities for kids. Not only do kids learn math more effectively with a multisensory approach, they have more fun learning too. Multisensory learning engages with visual, tactile, kinesthetic, and auditory lessons. Here are some ways to incorporate multisensory math into your homeschool classroom:
- Building. By using blocks and other building materials, children can make clear visual representations of the problems they are trying to solve, create shapes, and more. The classic children’s building blocks are some of a child’s first encounters with math and some of the best ways to make math fun and more concrete.
- Touch. Sandpaper numbers, tapping out numbers, and creating tactile points for numbers are all great ways to incorporate the sense of touch. It’s also fun to create manipulatives out of things that have interesting textures such as modeling dough, rice or quinoa, and putty.
- Counters. Unit cubes, small pieces of food, blocks, beads, or any other small object can be used as counters. This is especially beneficial with younger children learning 1:1 correspondence, solving math problems and counting. Never underestimate the benefit of a counter!
- Music. Some children learn incredibly fast through song. Music like the ShillerLearning Songs Kits helps reinforce concepts through catchy songs kids will enjoy. Learning to play and read music can also help children with math skills when they’re older!
- Movement. Incorporating math into outdoor games, dancing to math music, and counting steps or objects while walking are all ways to get the body moving and grasp math concepts. Sometimes even just a simple movement break in between lessons helps reinforce a concept and improve focus.
- Drawing. Drawing out a problem (such as 5 stars + 2 stars = 7 stars), making shapes and illustrating word problems engage different parts of the brain and build different neural connections.
- Images. Using visual materials such as pictures, graphs, tables and images will reach visual learners as well as help reinforce concepts in another way.
If you find yourself trying to present a concept to a child that they seem to be struggling to grasp, try approaching it from a different angle using one of these multisensory techniques. If you need help generating ideas or tips feel free to call or email us or ask in Larry’s Club on Facebook. We also post multisensory math ideas and tips on the ShillerMath Facebook page.
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Amanda Osenga
Amanda is a former Montessori teacher who is now homeschooling her only child, a seven-year-old boy. Her family resides in an Airstream that is parked in Washington. She loves Washington's outdoor opportunities. When she’s not schooling, she also blogs at TreehouseDaily.com, works as a Virtual Assistant and loves reading and creating hand-lettering pieces.
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