Cuisenaire® Rods

Cuisenaire Rods are a collection of rectangular rods of 10 colors, and each

color is a different length. Because the lengths are proportional,
Cuisenaire Rods can be used to develop a wide variety of mathematical
skills at many different levels of complexity. They can be used for basic
operations, fractions, decimals, and algebra.

Build a Boat
Overview: In this activity, your child designs a boat with Cuisenaire Rods and estimates how many
white Cuisenaire Rods it takes to cover their boat.
Materials: Cuisenaire Rods, paper, pencil
v On the paper, have your child arrange 5–10 Cuisenaire Rods so they look like a boat. They can
use any rods you want, except the white ones.
v With a pencil, have your child carefully trace the boat on the paper.
v Remove the rods from the drawing.
v Have your child estimate (make a smart guess) how many white rods it takes to cover the
drawing of your boat.
v Have your child cover the drawing with white rods and then count them. Was the estimate
right?
v Repeat again with other shapes.

Copy and Repeat

Overview: In this activity, your child creates patterns and converts those patterns to number
sentences to estimate how many rods they need to repeat the pattern.
Materials: Cuisenaire Rods, paper, pencil
v Have your child use Cuisenaire Rods to create 1 of the patterns.
v Each pattern is repeated twice. The first pattern is green, red, green, red, repeat.
v If doing that pattern once, as shown, requires 2 reds and 2 greens, and doing it twice (as
shown) requires 4 reds and 4 greens, how many rods of each color would you need to repeat 5
times? The number sentence might be (2r + 2g) + (2r + 2g) + (2r +2 g) + (2r + 2g) + (2r +2 g)
=10r + 10g
v Have your child build the pattern so it repeats 10 times. Was the estimate correct?
v Have your child do this again with the other pattern.
v For extra fun:
● On a paper, design a pattern with at least 3 repeats.
● Trace it in onto the paper.
● Remove the Cuisenaire Rods and give it to a friend. See if they can figure out how you
made your pattern.

© hand2mind, Inc hand2mind.com

 Base Ten Blocks
Base Ten Blocks provide a 3-dimensional model of the Base Ten number system. They help
physically represent concepts of place value, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of
whole numbers. The blocks serve as visual models for understanding the processes your child uses
when doing paper-and-pencil arithmetic.

Units Rods Flats

Beginning With Base Ten Blocks

Overview: In this activity, your child practices trading units for rods, rods for flats, etc.
Materials: Base Ten Blocks, 3 pieces of blank paper
v Take 3 pieces of paper, labeling them “1s”, “10s”, and “100s”.
v Have your child place 1 unit at a time on the page labeled “1s” counting aloud for each unit.
v Once there are 10 units on that page trade them in for a rod and place the rod on the page
labeled “10s”.
v Continue placing units on the 1s page counting aloud (11, 12, 13, …19, 20), trading 10 units
for a rod once there are 10 units on the 1s page. Keep going. (21, 22, 23, …29, 30, trade)
v When there are 10 rods on the page labeled “10s” (96, 97, 98, 99, 100) trade the rods for a
flat and put the flat on the page labeled “100s.” Keep going to 999.

Sum It Up!
Overview: In this activity, your child uses Base Ten Blocks to model a number as the sum of 2
addends. Then they find ways to model the same number with different pairs of addends.
Materials: Base Ten Blocks, Sum it Up! Work Mat (see next page), 2 dice
v Make a copy of the Sum It Up! Work Mat so you can enjoy the activity more than once.
v Have your child roll the dice. Use the 2 numbers rolled to make a number using the Base Ten
Blocks. If you roll a 3 and a 4, decide if you want 3 rods and 4 units or 4 rods and 3 units.
v Put the Base Ten Blocks at the top of the Sum It Up! Work Mat.
v Write the number on the worksheet as a sum (43).
v Rearrange the Base Ten Blocks 6 or more different ways to make number sentences that equal
your sum. (40 + 3, 20 + 23, etc.) Remember you can trade 10 units for a rod or 1 rod for 10
units.

© hand2mind, Inc hand2mind.com

© hand2mind, Inc
hand2mind.com
Permission is granted for limited reproduction of pages for in-home use and not for resale.
 Ten-Frames

Ten-frames provide a hands-on way to help your child learn

counting, number correspondence, number patterns,
addition, subtraction, and much more.

Counting Cards
Overview: In this activity, your child builds number sense while practicing visualizing numbers as
groups of 5s and 10s.
Materials: Ten-Frame, Counters, Deck of Cards (without face cards)
v Ask your child to select a card and then use the counters to show the number on the card by
placing them into the spots on the ten-frame starting in the top row and moving left to right.
v The counters can be 2-color counters, buttons, or cereal.

Making 10
Overview: In this activity, your child uses visualization instead of counting to compose numbers in
different ways.
Materials: Ten-Frame, Counters, one die
v Have your child roll the die and place counters on the ten-frame to match the number shown.
v Then ask your child to write down how many more counters they think are needed to make 10.
v Next have your child add a different color counter to the ten-frame until all the boxes are filled.
v Count the 2nd color of counters. Check the number written down to check if it was correct.
v Then your child can repeat these steps to make 10 in other ways.

Number Sentences
Overview: In this activity, your child practices composing numbers in different ways and writing
number sentences.
Materials: Ten-Frame, 2-Color Counters, Cup, Deck of Cards (without face cards)

v Have your child select a card and place that many 2-color counters in a cup.
v Shake the cup and spill out the counters. Place the red counters on the ten-frame first and
then the yellow counters.
v Write down the number of counters and the matching addition sentence.
v Put the 2-color counters back in the cup and repeat. How many ways can you make the number
on the card you picked?

© hand2mind, Inc hand2mind.com

 Hundred Board

This versatile Hundred Board can be used for learning counting,

number patterns, operations, and multiples!

Evens and Odds

Overview: In this activity, your child identifies even and odd numbers.
Materials: Hundred Board, Counters, or Dry-Erase Markers
v On the Hundred Board ask your child to cover all the even numbers with 1 color counter and all
the odd numbers with another color counter.
v Discuss how the different colors create columns within the board.

Skip Counting
Overview – In this activity, your child practices skip counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s.
Materials – Hundred Board, Counters, or Dry-Erase Markers
v On the Hundred Board, ask your child to place counters on numbers as they skip count.
v They can practice counting by 2s (2, 4, 6, 8, etc.), 5s (5, 10, 15, 20, etc.), 10s (10, 20, 30, 40, etc.),
and so on.
v Once they have mastered this, have them count by 5s or 10s starting at a number other than 1.

Roll to 100
Overview – In this activity, your child practices counting on while playing a dice game.
Materials – Hundred Board, Two Dice, Crayons, Counters, or Dry-Erase Markers
v Your Hundred Board becomes a game board. Have your child roll both dice to determine how
many spaces they are moving forward.
v If they roll a 7 (a 4 and a 3), they cover the number 7 square on the hundred board.
v On the next roll if they roll a 5 (a 1 and a 4) they move 5 more spaces from the 7 and cover the
number 12 square on the board.
v If playing with 2 players, the first player to 100 wins!

© hand2mind, Inc hand2mind.com

Thesequenceandselecti
onofcolorsof
al
lfr
acti
onpiecesareat r
ademar kof
Learni
ngResources,I
nc.
 Pattern Blocks

A set of Pattern Blocks consists of blocks in 6 geometric, color-coded shapes. Pattern Blocks help
your child explore many mathematical topics, including congruence, similarity, symmetry, area,
perimeter, patterns, fractions, and graphing. They can also be used to explore spatial relations and
designing patterns.

Discover Pattern Blocks

Overview: In this activity, your child discovers the relationships between the different Pattern
Blocks and expresses them as equations.
Materials: Pattern Blocks, paper, pencil
v Have your child sort the Pattern Blocks by color. Take 1 yellow hexagon.
v Have your child dmake a hexagon from the red trapezoids. How many red trapezoids did it
take?
v On the paper, have your child write: 1 yellow hexagon = 2 red trapezoids.
v Now have your child use a different color Pattern Block to make a hexagon and write the
“formula” on your paper.
v Now that your child has figured out how all the Pattern Blocks relate to the hexagon, see if they
can figure out how the Pattern Blocks relate to each other.

Copy and Repeat

Overview: In this activity, your child learns how to record and observe how different
patterns can create the same shape.
Materials: Pattern Blocks, paper, crayons
v Have your child put 4 yellow hexagons together horizontally to make
your caterpillar.
v Have your child cover the caterpillar using only blue and green Pattern Blocks.
v Have your child trace and color the caterpillar outline on a sheet of paper to
record your solution.
v Have your child record the number of blue blocks and green blocks they
used to color the caterpillar.
v Have your child repeat the activity using a different number of blue and green
blocks to cover the caterpillar and then record these results.
v Now have your child use red and green blocks and record the results.
© hand2mind, Inc hand2mind.com
 Color Tiles
Color Tiles are 1-inch squares, which come in 4 colors. Young children
start by using Color Tiles to recognize and build patterns. As their
mathematical understanding grows, they can use them for addition,
subtraction, multiplication, and division. Color Tiles can represent
numbers in a number sentence or objects in a word problem.

Estimation Jars
Overview: In this activity, your child estimates and then counts the number of Color Tiles that fill a
variety of containers.
Materials: Color Tiles, plastic containers of different sizes (3 or more)
v Put an assortment of Color Tiles in each container.
v Ask your child how many Color Tiles they think are in each container. List the guesses, each
time asking your child to explain why their guesses or estimates make sense.
v Begin counting the contents of each container aloud. Halfway through each container, ask your
child whether they would like to change their estimates and, if so, why. Record your child’s new
estimates next to the original ones.
v Finish counting the Color Tiles and ask your child to compare their estimates with the actual
number of Color Tiles. Try this activity with Snap Cubes instead of Color Tiles.

Follow Me!
Overview: In this activity, your child uses spatial visualization skills to compose shapes, think
strategically, and uses transformations (reflections and rotations) to determine congruence.
Materials: Color Tiles, large book or box
v Put a large book or box up between you and the child.
v Make a simple secret design using with some Color Tiles.
v Give clues to your child so the design can be duplicated.
v Here are some sample clues:
● Clue 1: The design makes a letter of the alphabet.
● Clue 2: It has 3 Color Tiles of 1 color in the top row.
● Clue 3: The top Color Tiles are not red, green, or blue.
● Clue 4: It has 2 Color Tiles going down from the middle tile.
● Clue 5: For those Color Tiles, 1 Color Tile is blue, and 1 is red. Blue is not the bottom
Color Tile.
v When you’re done, reveal the design and see if the 2 designs are the same.
v Take turns making designs and giving clues.

© hand2mind, Inc hand2mind.com