Strengths:
I believe that math manipulatives are an absolute must for kindergarten through third grade. Children are able to learn and understand so many math concepts with the hands-on use of manipulatives. I also happen to love Saxon Math and think the manipulatives that go with their kindergarten through third grade math sets are wonderful. Saxon Math K is almost completely taught with manipulatives and doesn’t even have student workbooks. The Saxon Math Manipulatives continue to be a huge part of learning math concepts for first through third grades.
A wonderful thing about the Saxon Math Manipulatives is that once you purchase a set for a specific grade, you don’t have to buy a whole new complete set for the following grades because you can buy what are known as “Filler Packs”. For example, if you buy the kindergarten manipulative set, you will also use most of these items for first grade math and will only need to purchase a few extra manipulatives for Saxon Math 1. The kindergarten manipulative set includes two 36-inch multicolor laces, forty-eight fun frog counters (or counting bears in some sets), a stacking balance, two 4-inch geared mini-clocks, two geoboards with rubber bands, a set of twenty-eight double-sided dominoes, twenty-five colored plastic tangrams, one hundred linking cubes, one hundred plastic pattern blocks, and a storage container to keep all of these items in. Your child will continue to use the two 36-inch multicolor laces, the stacking balance, the two 4-inch geared mini-clocks, the two geoboards with rubber bands, the one hundred linking cubes, and the one hundred plastic pattern blocks for first grade math. The extra manipulatives needed for first grade are available as a set called “Saxon Math 1 Manipulatives Filler Pack”. This filler pack includes a set of one hundred color tiles, a folding meter stick, two 12-inch wooden rulers, and a laminated number hundred board with 0 to 99 on it. After first grade, you will purchase the “Saxon Math 2 Manipulatives Filler Pack” and then the “Saxon Math 3 Manipulatives Filler Pack” the following year. This works with all of the Saxon Math Manipulatives sets. If you start you child with a first grade manipulative set, you will only need to purchase the filler packs for second and third grade. If you start with a second grade manipulative set,you will only need to purchase the filler pack for third grade. The filler packs save you a lot of money by just adding the few items needed for the next grade of math.
The Saxon Math Manipulatives are very nice. The items are very colorful and perfect sized for small hands. I was actually very surprised at the size of the linking cubes when I got them. I expected them to be much smaller and was very pleased with their larger size, making them easier for young children to handle them as they put them together and took them apart. Most of the items in the Saxon Math Manipulatives sets are also very durable. I was once again surprised by the wonderful quality of items like the tangrams, color tiles, and pattern blocks. I hadn’t expected them to be unbendable and unbreakable and I was truly pleased by this.
I have found that my kindergarten through third grade students really enjoy learning math with the manipulatives. To them, it’s like they get to play while learning math. Math class is something my younger students get excited about each day. They will even go get the manipulatives out so we can start. For me, there’s no drudgery involved in teaching a child math if they are looking forward to “playing” with the manipulatives. Even my older students like to get their hands on the pattern blocks, tangrams, and linking cubes to see what cool design they can make.
Weaknesses:
I wouldn’t say that any of the items in the Saxon Math Manipulatives are of poor quality, but I would say that if an item like a geoboard got stepped on or sat on, it would probably crack or break. Also, if an item like the stacking balance was used or handled roughly, it could also crack or break. The obvious thing would be to prevent any of this from happening by making sure items are put away after being used and teaching your child to not be rough with manipulatives that are not unbreakable.
Recommendations:
I highly recommend using Saxon Math Manipulatives for kindergarten through third grade. I also recommend that you keep the manipulatives somewhere that your kindergarten through third grade students can get them out each day for class. On days when you have extra time, allow them to “play” with some of the manipulatives to learn and explore on their own.
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