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Use the search filters below to return results. Keep an eye out for some of my top favorites-- my "BookSmart Picks"-- that are sure to entertain and educate your kids! And, many activities use common materials you likely have at home already. Look for entries marked with the "Common Items" icon to find activities that shouldn't require any purchase.
An ancient puzzle, the Tower of Hanoi is a test of logic and strategy. The object is to move all 8 discs from the peg farthest to the left to the peg farthest to the right….
An ancient puzzle, the Tower of Hanoi is a test of logic and strategy. The object is to move all 8 discs from the peg farthest to the left to the peg farthest to the right. You must stack them in order from largest at the bottom to smallest at the top, BUT you can only move one disc at a time and you cannot put a larger disc on top of a smaller disc. This has been a favorite puzzle in my classroom, with both third graders and fourth graders; they love the challenge as well as the perseverance that it requires. And once they solve it, they love it so much that they keep going back to it in order to try to get faster and more efficient in solving the puzzle.
This set includes 60 sticks in 3 sizes, along with 20 curved pieces and two different types of connectors (34) to build both two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes. What is great about this particular set is that it allows for making shapes beyond polygons…
This set includes 60 sticks in 3 sizes, along with 20 curved pieces and two different types of connectors (34) to build both two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes. What is great about this particular set is that it allows for making shapes beyond polygons and polyhedral, like circles, spheres, cylinders, and cones; I don’t often come across sets like this. Also included is a set of activity cards, with 30 total activities to guide your child’s play.
Shape-O-Metry allows kids to play with tetronimoes to develop spatial, abstract, and quantitative reasoning skills. The set of 20 shapes also comes with 50 puzzle challenges to push your child’s thinking. There are several levels of difficulty…
Shape-O-Metry allows kids to play with tetronimoes to develop spatial, abstract, and quantitative reasoning skills. The set of 20 shapes also comes with 50 puzzle challenges to push your child’s thinking. There are several levels of difficulty, as well, so your child won’t get bored with the puzzles and can continue to challenge themselves. They can move from beginner all the way up to genius level.
Inchimals is a set of 12 wooden blocks, measuring from 1 inch to 12 inches in height. However, these are not just boring wooden blocks—each one is a different animal, ranging in size from the 1” ladybug to the 12” giraffe. The different Inchimals can be combined…
Inchimals is a set of 12 wooden blocks, measuring from 1 inch to 12 inches in height. However, these are not just boring wooden blocks—each one is a different animal, ranging in size from the 1” ladybug to the 12” giraffe. The different Inchimals can be combined to have fun with measuring, and the set comes with a small book of math puzzles for kids explore counting, measuring, numbers, and scale.
Use this set of 14 clear plastic geometric shapes to show the relationship between shape, size, and volume. The set includes spheres, cones, cylinders, cubes, pyramids, and prisms. Each shape has a removable stopper in it to allow kids…
Use this set of 14 clear plastic geometric shapes to show the relationship between shape, size, and volume. The set includes spheres, cones, cylinders, cubes, pyramids, and prisms. Each shape has a removable stopper in it to allow kids to fill them in order to measure volume. It also comes with a teaching guide to help you support your kid.
These fraction circles are not only magnetic, but they are also double-sided with fractions on one side and percent on the other side. This allows your child to make the connection between fractions and percents. It also allows for seeing equivalent fractions…
These fraction circles are not only magnetic, but they are also double-sided with fractions on one side and percents on the other side. This allows your child to make the connection between fractions and percents. It also allows for seeing equivalent fractions by constructing the circles in different ways (for example, seeing that 1/2 of a circle is the same as 2/4 of a circle). It includes 9 circles—whole, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5, 1/6, 1/8, 1/10, and 1/12—all of which are color-coded.
Tangrams are always a great way to play with shapes and build spatial reasoning. But I especially like this set because it is so kid-friendly, even when you’re on the go. It’s a small, spiral bound book containing 240 different puzzles…
Tangrams are always a great way to play with shapes and build spatial reasoning. But I especially like this set because it is so kid-friendly, even when you’re on the go. It’s a small, spiral bound book containing 240 different puzzles, along with the solutions to look up if you get stuck. Each of the seven tangram shapes is a different color AND they are magnetic, so your child won’t struggle with trying to keep shapes in place as they figure out the rest of the puzzle.
This cute little muffin tin set is a great way for your little one to practice counting, matching, and sorting. They will also have a fun time using the mini tweezers made for little hands, which as a bonus helps build their fine motor skills…
This cute little muffin tin set is a great way for your little one to practice counting, matching, and sorting. They will also have a fun time using the mini tweezers made for little hands, which as a bonus helps build their fine motor skills.
This set of five templates helps your child draw and compare different shapes. Included are circles, triangles, rectangles, squares, and hexagons. There are a lot of templates out there, but I like that with these, the shape of each template is the same as the shapes included on that template…
This set of five templates helps your child draw and compare different shapes. Included are circles, triangles, rectangles, squares, and hexagons. There are a lot of templates out there, but I like that with these, the shape of each template is the same as the shapes included on that template. For example, the template that includes triangles is also shaped like a triangle. But more importantly, each template gives your child a number of different examples of the same shape, so they can start thinking of shapes in terms of characteristics (i.e. triangles all have 3 straight sides). They are also good quality—sturdy plastic and big enough for small children to use easily. They are great to use in drawing pictures or creating designs as your child learns about shapes.
These tiles are exactly like the fraction strips we make in third grade each year as we start our study of fractions. These are great because you can visualize the fractions, compare different fractions, and work with equivalent fractions…
These tiles are exactly like the fraction strips we make in third grade each year as we start our study of fractions. These are great because you can visualize the fractions, compare different fractions, and work with equivalent fractions. We even discuss adding fractions using these as well, as in what fractions can we add to make ½? What fractions can we add to make 1 whole? These foam tiles/ strips offer great support for all of the foundational fraction work done in third and fourth grade.
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