Young kids need to master math concepts at a concrete level before they can visualize them in their minds. Therefore, the goal of the early elementary years is not to simply push rote memorization of math facts, but to help kids develop a solid foundation in basic math (or “maths” depending on which part of the English-speaking world you come from).
Building this solid foundation requires interactive, hands-on learning, ideally with manipulatives (i.e., objects and tools that kids can see, touch and handle), as they are learning math concepts and skills. My own earliest memory of a math manipulative is a set of Montessori counting beads that came in groups of 1s, 2s, 5s, 10s and so on, up to blocks of 100.
Once kids have a good grasp of basic math and how numbers work, they will have a solid base to develop more abstract thinking and complex problem-solving skills in upper elementary and beyond. I think it’s vital not to rush through the foundational stage because it could short-circuit true understanding and lead to struggles down the road.
“The goal of early elementary mathematics is to move the child from manipulating real objects to picturing those objects mentally.” ~ Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise
One of my favorite math manipulatives is the abacus (or more specifically, the AL abacus, also called Cotter abacus or Rekenrek). It prominently displays groups of 5 beads to help kids subitize (visually recognize without counting one by one) quantities of 5s and 10s easily. Why 5? It turns out that visual recognition up to quantities of 5 is easiest to master.
A few simple abacus activities to try (ideal for preschool to K):
🧮 Counting forward and backward
🧮 Counting by 2s, 5s, 10s, etc.
🧮 Skip counting (e.g., 1, 3, 5, etc.)
🧮 Simple arithmetic (e.g., addition and subtraction, beginning multiplication)
🧮 Place value awareness (e.g., 32 is three 10s and two 1s)
🧮 … and many more!
Personally, I’m somewhat of a minimalist, so you probably won’t see me recommend long lists of must-buy products — but here are my favorite manipulatives (not affilinked): AL abacus and linking cubes. Each product is pretty versatile, so together they will cover most basic math topics (outside of geometry and telling time, of course).
Hi 👋! I’m datasciencemom, a big tech research scientist turned early education enthusiast. I post content on math, kids’ books and SEL. If you enjoy posts like this, you can also join my Instagram family.