Excellerations® Math Manipulatives – 4 Different Sets, 444 Pieces Total

Description

This comprehensive collection brings together four themed sets of colorful rubber manipulatives designed to make early math concepts tangible and engaging. The 444-piece collection includes squishy bugs, farm animals, jungle animals, and fruit counters in vibrant colors that invite hands-on exploration and learning.

Each set comes packaged in its own reusable storage tub, making organization and cleanup straightforward for busy homeschool families. Made from non-toxic, latex-free rubber, these manipulatives offer a safe tactile experience that appeals to different learning styles. The durable construction means these tools can withstand years of daily use across multiple children and subjects.

The variety of themes provides natural opportunities to integrate math skills with science concepts, vocabulary building, and creative play. Whether you’re working with a preschooler just learning to count or an elementary student tackling skip counting and basic operations, these manipulatives adapt to different skill levels and learning objectives.

How Homeschoolers Can Use This Product

Mathematics Benefits

These manipulatives excel at making abstract math concepts concrete and visual. Young learners can practice one-to-one correspondence by counting individual pieces, while older students use them for addition, subtraction, and multiplication problems. The four different themes allow you to create engaging word problems: “If there are 8 farm animals in the barn and 5 more join them, how many animals are there total?”

Skip counting becomes more engaging when children can physically group animals by 2s, 5s, or 10s. The variety also supports fraction work, where children can divide groups into equal parts or identify fractional relationships between different colored pieces.

Science Integration Activities

The animal sets naturally support life science lessons about habitats, animal classification, and ecosystems. Sort farm animals versus jungle animals while discussing different environments and adaptations. Use the bug collection to explore insect anatomy, life cycles, and the role of insects in food chains.

Create classification activities by sorting animals by characteristics like size, color, or whether they’re mammals, birds, or insects. The fruit pieces work well for nutrition lessons and discussions about plant parts and healthy eating habits.

Language Arts Extensions

These manipulatives serve as excellent storytelling prompts and vocabulary builders. Encourage children to create stories using specific animals or fruits, building narrative skills and descriptive language. Practice positional words (above, below, beside, between) by arranging pieces in different configurations.

Use the pieces for spelling and phonics activities by having children find all items that start with specific letters or contain certain sounds. Create category games where children group items alphabetically or by syllable count.

Practical Teaching Tips

Store each themed set in its original tub for quick access during lessons. Consider using these manipulatives across multiple children simultaneously by giving each child a different colored subset to work with during group activities.

For kinesthetic learners, incorporate movement by having children hop or clap while counting pieces. Create math journals where students draw pictures of their manipulative work and write about the problems they solved.

The pieces work well on light tables or in sensory bins for children who benefit from additional tactile input. Consider using them outdoors for nature-based math lessons or as rewards for completing other academic work.

Multi-Level Learning Approach

Younger children can focus on basic counting, sorting by color or type, and pattern creation. Elementary students can tackle more complex operations, create their own word problems, and explore concepts like probability by drawing random pieces from containers.

The collection grows with your child, making it a worthwhile long-term investment for families with multiple children or those planning to homeschool for several years.