We have quite a few various sets of numerals and counters, but none of them seem to hold her interest for very long. So, I started brainstorming for a numeral and counter idea that would keep even the picky Bigger Bit interested...
Like the tactile magnets, Bigger Bit is seemingly unendingly interested in anything that is a magnet. So, I threw together (it took less than an hour, total) this set of magnetic numerals and counters. (As a side note: these won't reside on the fridge, although they could. I have a box for them, and a magnetic whiteboard that we'll use. But by the time I got around to taking pictures tonight, Bigger Bit and the Princess were already asleep, and the whiteboard was left in their room.. not worth waking them up to find it tonight).
This super-easy project can be thrown together in less than an hour. I started with foam sheet and a set of flat bottomed stones (both of these came from the dollar store), plus strong self-adhesive magnets, a bottle of good quality glue, and a pair of scissors (told you it was easy). Here's what my foam sheet and stones looked like:
I cut the numbers 1-6 (obviously, if you are making all 10 numbers, then cut out 1-10.. I'm going to work on 1-6, then when she's got that down, add 7-10) from the foam sheets. I free-handed it (hence, the "imperfect" look), but feel free to trace the numbers from somewhere, if you want. Once the numbers were cut, I glued the self-adhesive magnets onto the backs (they probably would have stuck with just the self-adhesive parts, but I'm cautious about magnets).
Note that I used magnets on the top and bottom. This helps them to stick on the board (or fridge) correctly and keep their proper shape.
I added small pieces of magnet (again, glued with a strong glue) to the flat bottom of the stones. Multiple small magnets worked better for me than one larger magnet, primarily because the bottoms of my "flat bottom" stones weren't completely smooth. Multiple little magnets adhered better.
Then, just keep gluing on magnets till all your numerals and stones are complete. Let them dry, and you're good to go.
I presented the set like this (on the board, but the fridge will have to do for now):
I showed her how to line up the numbers in the correct order, then let her try to do it herself:
Once she had the numbers in the correct order, it wasn't too difficult for her to associate the correct number of stone counters to the numerals. Bub helped her out with the numbers 4, 5, and 6, but she seemed to catch on fast.
She worked with these magnetic numerals and counters for a while tonight. I'm interested to see if she still plays with them tomorrow.
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