Base 10 Blocks

by Erin
(Baltimore, MD)

This is a great tool for teaching the base system of tens, hundreds, and thousands. The ones are little blue blocks 1 cm squared. The tens are sticks of 10 of the unit blocks. The hundreds are a square the size of 10 of the 10 sticks. The thousands are a cube made of ten of the hundred squares.

My son just couldn't understand place value until I bought these blocks. They are a little expensive; but worth it. He suddenly "got it" after one session.

At first it seemed like a waste of money to spend on something he caught onto in one lesson. But he was having trouble and couldn't really progress in addition and subtraction until I bought the base 10 blocks.

And isn't that what math tools are supposed to do - make the concept understandable by touching them?