Charlotte Mason espoused using concrete objects for math lessons, and I totally agree. I know that Sprite learned math concepts much faster and with more enjoyment when there was a hands-on element (rather than mere numbers on a page). She used math manipulatives all the way into fifth grade, and I admit that we still have some math cubes on the shelf just in case. Also, I made a deliberate effort to keep the math “toys” accessible to her for free play at any time.
When you need a math manipulative right now, these free printable templates can come to your rescue. Although not nearly as sturdy as a purchased wooden or plastic set, paper manipulatives can serve their purpose well.
I recommend this article – How to Make the Most of Math Manipulatives by Marilyn Burns — to help you get the biggest educational value from your hands-on activities. (This article is written from a classroom perspective; so adjust as necessary for the homeschool environment.)
I’ve listed what you can find at each site in case you’re looking for something specific.
1. Hand Made Manipulative Instructions (html)
- Pattern Blocks
- Base-Ten Blocks
- Base-Five Blocks
- XY-Blocks – Set of X, X2, XY, Y, and Y2 blocks.
- Attribute Blocks
- Rods
- Color Tiles
- Graph Paper
2. Math Printables for Home (all files in both pdf and doc formats)
- Dot Paper
- Geoboard Paper
- Graphing Paper
- Pattern Blocks Grid
- Hundreds Chart
- Base Ten Blocks
- Place Value Chart
- Nets for 3D shapes
- Pattern Blocks
3. Houghton Mifflin Math (pdf)
This site has so much it can be overwhelming. Here’s how to navigate to the printable manipulatives: choose a grade level, then Teaching Tools. Repeat this process with various grade levels to find different printable games and hands-on manipulatives. To make it easier, here are the links to each grade.
4. SEN Teacher (pdf)
- nets (3D models)
- clocks
- number cards
- coin worksheets
- coin cards
- coin fans
- math spinner
- coin dominoes
- volume cubes
- place value cards
- number lines
- graphs
5. Kentucky Center for Mathematics (most files in both pdf and doc formats)
- compass
- hundreds chart
- numeral track
- fraction rulers
6. Donna Young (pdf)
- math paper
- graph paper
- number lines
- money and coins
7. Manipulatives for Upper Elementary– grades 4-6 (most files in both pdf and html formats)
- Geometric Solids
- Base Ten Blocks
- Geoboard
- Colour Tiles
- Addition Mat
- Tangrams
- Pattern Blocks
- Blocks & Cubes
- Isometric Dot Paper
8. Mathematics Enhancement Program (pdf)
- Number Cards
- Number Lines
- Sign Cards
- Shape Cards
- Shape Cards with dots
9. Printable Math Game Boards (pdf & doc)
- shapes
- addition
- fractions
10. Game Boards at Jefferson County Schools (ppt & doc)
game boards and card templates for creating your own games
11. Ellen McHenry’s Basement Workshop (pdf)
printable games for grades 1-5
Hi and welcome! I'm Jimmie and this is my online collage of our Charlotte Mason homeschool. Taking just a little more time to document our learning shortens the learning curve for other busy homeschool moms.
Feel free to browse around my posts and freebies. My aim is to bless each reader with something useful. 
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
This is a great list! Thank you!
Mary recently posted Things Husbands Do.
Fantastic list, Jimmie! Thanks so much.
You are right -this is the ultimate list. What a resource!
Phyllis recently posted Geography-Postcard Album-Nebraska.
Wow! Great list! Thanks…
Palmy recently posted Venice journal – Diario del viaggio a Venezia.
Thank you very much!
Omigosh! I think I love you for this list.
Jimmie! Come post at Math Monday Blog Hop:
http://love2learn2day.blogspot.com/2011/04/math-monday-blog-hop-1-and-giveaway.html
We’d love to have you on the list!!
Cindy
Cindy recently posted Double Pennies for a Week or Take a Dollar.
Wow!!! I can only imagine how much time you put into this. Great resource, sharing.
Joyce recently posted More Shakespeare!!!.
Wonderful Resources! Thank you so much for compiling and sharing this!
Yea! Thank you for posting on Math Monday!!
Cindy recently posted Double Pennies for a Week or Take a Dollar.
Oh I adore all the stuff by Marilyn Burns I’ve read so far. She has some great books entitled A Collection Of Math Lessons for varying ages. I never thought I’d say this about math books, but you could seriously curl up with them they are that good!
Kendra recently posted Grapevine Bible Program.
Ooh wonderful! I’ve bookmarked your list and these wonderful sites. Thanks for sharing!
Nadene recently posted New Biography Notebook Page Templates.
Oh thank you so much for this awesome posy. I will link it up on my homeschool resource website. Love it ! Thank you once again.
Umm Umamah recently posted Preschool Science.
Thank you so much for taking the time to put this together and to share it. This will save me a lot of time!
Sharla recently posted Bring Your Daddy to Homeschool Day.
I am very impressed. This is a very creative way to teach. I can learn a lot from this site myself. Thanks for the knowledge
Thumbs up for the list.*****
Great site! Thank you for sharing!
Jimmie!!! Thank you!
Love this!!! Thank you so much for sharing the compilation.