10 ways to play Math Balance Toy To help children better understand numbers and math concepts
10 ways to play Math Balance Toy To help children better understand numbers and math concepts
The Math balance toy is a classic Montessori toy. It also gives different weights to the number symbols, which is very convenient for children to understand the concept of quantity while doing it.
For example, in the picture below, the number 1 weighs the same as a kitten, the number 2 weighs the same as two kittens, and so on
Let's use the frog balance game as an example to introduce 10 ways to play with the Math Balance toy:
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Understand the concept of quantity
Grab some random frogs and have the children count how many there are. In order for children to develop good habits, we can guide children to:
Arrange the frogs in a straight line, count from left to right, or every time you count a frog, put it in the tray (as a mark)
In this way, children can develop a good habit of not missing numbers and not repeating them.
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Correspondence between numbers and objects
We can put several frogs on a plate, let the children count first, and then match the corresponding numbers.
You can also put a number in one tray first, and then let the children add frogs to the other tray one by one until the balance is balanced, so as to learn to restore abstract numbers into quantities.
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Quantitative comparison
First of all, we can let children perceive "the same amount" between physical quantities through hands-on operations. For example, the mother first took out 3 frogs, and then asked the child: Can you take out as many frogs as me?
Then you can understand "more" first, and then migrate to "less", and express how much and how little.
For example: We can first remove the tray and put it on the table, put one frog on one tray, and three frogs on the other tray, and ask the children, how many frogs are there on that tray?
The child will give an answer first, and then we put the tray on both ends of the balance, and observe that the side with 3 frogs sinks, which proves that there are more frogs on this side.
The process of first predicting and then verifying can deepen children's understanding of concepts. Parents should not always "give the answer directly", let the children use their little hands to operate more, and the impression will be deeper!
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Exercise immediate memory
Memory is an important part of IQ!
We can place the numbers on the table first, then select several of them and place a frog on them. Let the children cover after observing, and answer which number has a frog on it just now.
Of course, we can also increase the difficulty, for example, some put one, and some put two. Or put the numbers in order at the beginning, and when the difficulty increases, you can shuffle the order, or even place them crookedly, challenging the ability to recognize numbers and symbols
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Compare and not equal
In the process of comparing quantities, perceive the use of greater than and less than signs in a visual way.
For example, in the above question, we can first place 6 frogs in one tray, and then let the children put the frogs into another tray one by one, but make sure that the second tray is always higher than the first (that is, the number is smaller).
Because there is a small pointer on the balance, we can also mark the symbol on the pointer to deepen the impression!
We can also change this question into a personality and put props on it! Disposable paper cups.
There are 6 frogs in the tray on the left, and the tray on the right is higher than the tray on the left, so please guess, how many frogs may there be on the right.
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Number of splits within 5
The division of numbers is very important for children to master the concept of addition and subtraction, and this type of problem is exactly what Math Balances are best at solving!
We can first put the number 5 on one tray, put the number 1 on the other tray, and let the children add frogs to the second tray one by one until the balance is reached so that the number within 5 can be split with the help of real objects.
You can also play a more cheerful game, put 5 frogs on the table, and the baby and mother will catch them together to see who catches the most. When you count the number, you will naturally get this knowledge point, and it is very fun!
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Operation Enlightenment - addition
First place 2 frogs on the table. Then the mother added two more frogs and asked the children to talk about how many were added. Remember not to rush to give the answer, be sure to let the children do it themselves~
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Average score
We can turn a similar topic into something like this: There are six frogs in total, and two children want to claim them home. Please help them distribute them evenly!
Let the children try to assign it first, and then put the results on the balance for verification. Then introduce the method of "ordered average score": "one for you, one for him, the same amount each time".
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Computing enlightenment
Minus means "less and less". We can also use the tray in the Math Balance in reverse!
First place 4 frogs on the table. Then the mother quickly buckled 3 of them with a tray, and only 1 was left, and asked the children to guess how many were missing.
In order to increase the fun, you can also move the frog in the "black box" to the balance and buckle it with a disposable paper cup, and put the predicted number in another tray for verification. Don't forget to add a paper cup to the side where the numbers are placed for balance.
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Computing enlightenment
We can put the number part in a small bag/box, and then pour it on the table at once to let the numbers be placed randomly, and let the children find 9 from 1 in order as quickly as possible.
You can also deliberately lack one or two numbers, and let the children find the missing numbers in the process of counting from 1-9. This is also the basic skill of the Sudoku game.
