Special Project Grant: Math Manipulatives

By: Jessica Kaminski

Lavallee School

Lavallee School recently received a generous grant from the Manitoba Association for Multi-Age Educators (MAME), which has enabled our school to purchase a variety of math manipulatives. These tools, which include tactile objects like cubes, counting beads, geometric shapes, equality balance scales, and ten frame kits, are designed to provide students with a hands-on approach to learning math concepts.

Before receiving the grant, our school had a very limited manipulatives collection, making it difficult to convey foundational ideas such as making a number, breaking a number apart, and equality, without tools that allowed students to physically manipulate numbers. Because our collection was limited, we had to share the manipulatives amongst our three classrooms, which meant that we couldn’t all use them in our day-to-day teaching. 

The infusion of MAME's grant funding has transformed the early years math learning environment at Lavallee. We have seen a noticeable difference in student engagement and comprehension since we now have enough manipulatives for each classroom on our K-2 team. Students are now able to physically explore math concepts by building numbers and equations on a regular basis. These manipulatives allow learners to move beyond traditional methods and truly experience math as an interactive process. It also has created a lot of excitement for our learners.

Thanks to the MAME grant, our Lavallee K-2 team is making great strides in building foundational math concepts in our youngest learners. The MAME grant has provided much-needed math manipulatives that are making a tangible difference in how students approach and understand math. We look forward to teaching math with these wonderful manipulatives for years to come!