Resource

Math Discovery Box

Tips to encourage children who are blind or visually impaired to explore math, numbers, and counting!

List of resources for a ‘Maths Investigation and Discovery Box’

  • Basket with numbered pegs for counting and ordering
  • Bowl of conkers/ chestnuts (replace with any natural material e.g. pebbles, leaves, flowers)
  • Basket of  assorted shells in various colours, patterns, shapes and sizes for sorting and counting
  • Ball of play dough

large print numbers on green paper

  • Tray of brailled or large print numbers
  • Pencil/Black Pen and black lined notebook/Perkins Braille Machine titled “Maths Discovery”
  • Plastic food tray with coloured sand/scented salts for writing numbers in, counting objects into, etc.
  • Pipe cleaners for threading beads onto etc
  • Teddy bears
  • Egg carton
  • Muffin tin

discovery box items

  • Paper cake cases
  • Empty wooden bowl
  • Measuring tape
  • Lollipop sticks and waxing sticks
  • Textured disks made using the circular ends of a CD pack. Discs covered in textures. Or, cut card circles and add textures to them
  • Variety of interesting objects to explore (embroidery ring, spider’s web, Icing bag, rings, plastic tubing, jumbo clips
  • Furry pencil case with glass beads inside
  • Magnetic board with magnets 
  • Ice cube tray
  • Bricks of different sizes

discovery box items

  • Boxes (variety of shapes and sizes) filled with beads, Lego, coloured, wooden shapes, bells, felt shapes etc, place in a wooden box for the child to choose from
  • Russian nesting dolls
  • Stacking beakers

basket

On the top of the box, textured circles are attached with Velcro. The child can have fun feeling the textures, pulling them off as they find the matching pair.
 
box packed and ready to go
 

math discovery box

There are more shared ideas at https://www.positiveeye.co.uk/