Today John and I did a Touch Math LIVE Lesson on my FB page.
Touch Math is my favorite way to teach early number sense, one to one correspondence, sensory integration and the overall concept of number to 4-7 year olds. I primarily use the manipulatives where you put the touch points on the number yourself, the posters and the workbook.
The Touch Math Site has so much info and many educational resources that I have used over the years. From what I can tell from glancing at the website, they have a homeschool tab that links you to downloadables you can purchase.
Number sense is a very abstract concept for concrete thinkers age 4-7.
Touch math really incorporates the abstract and the concrete for the young learner. Being able to identify numbers and to count is concrete. However, understanding the representation of what "number" means is very abstract. The fact that the touch points are actually on the numbers themselves really blend the concrete and abstract beautifully.
For example, the child may be able to identify the number 5 in a concrete way, but the abstract comes in when the child sees and touches the 5 touch points on the number. This tactile way of touching the number brings out the abstract meaning of 5. The number 5 actually is a symbol...a way of representing 5 things.
I LOVE watching children explore the concept of number and then actually touch the number and realize that they counted the amount of things that are on the number itself, therefore relating the concrete to the abstract.
For learners who catch on fast, it will take no time at all for them to pick up on this concept and to make a seemless transition into counting on and counting back from a number using those touch points.
They will be addding and subtracting in no time!
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