Olivia is a very hands on learner. Sometimes verbal explanations of new concepts just turn into a jumble in her brain. She needs something more concrete to help her on occasion.
Some learning tools (or manipulatives) are easy, some take more thought. When we were having difficulty with number and comma placement to the millions, I made these simple foam cup counters. Each one has a set of 3 numbers and a comma. It helped her to write a verbalized number accurately with the correct amount of numbers and commas.
Remembering all the terms for math problems can be a chore (for both of us). So I made these hand posters with terms AND the corresponding math problem and placement. These get reviewed daily during her independent study time.
I guess you don’t really think of language arts as having manipulatives, but having facts all in one place makes for much better studying. I’ve made Olivia and Lindsey each a key ringed set of index cards with terms and definitions, and examples. For example there is a card for each sentence type (declarative, interrogative, exclamatory and imperative) Each card shows the definition of the sentence type, the punctuation mark that goes with it, and then there is an example sentence as well.
We add to the key ring each time we learn a new grammar rule or definition. These are also reviewed daily during independent study time. I’ve added hole reinforcement labels to the back of each card to keep them from getting torn easily.
These are a few of the helps we use to reinforce concepts during our day. I’m linking this post with What Works Wednesdays.
What great ways of adapting for your learner! As a hands on learner myself I wish they would have had more of it when I was in school 35 years ago. Now teaching my own little girl and storing up ideas! Thank you!
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