What the hand does, the mind remembers. — Maria Montessori
Our son is really into card games lately. He loves “Go Fish” and “War” especially, but while playing “War, he was having a tough time looking at the cards and determining which was greater. To help him out, we provided a concrete manipulative — Unifix cubes, in this case — so that he could build each number and then compare.
Worked like a charm. When teaching your young children, always remember to begin with the concrete and allow them time to master a concept before moving on to the abstract.
Preschool Math: Compare Whole Numbers