Hands on Math Curricula

[LuxPerpetua]

I'm trying to build up a mental database of ideas for when we start formally hs-ing dd (soon to be 4). Right now I'm thinking of trying out a more Waldorf approach first but supplementing math. I'd like to combine Waldorf arty/story-type math with something more hands-on and concrete. What are some curricula out there that are solid in explaining math concepts and have lots of hands-on action--I'm thinking blocks, origami . . . I dunno, building contraptions or something? We are media free, so anything involving videos or computer games is out. I've looked at Noble Knights of Knowledge--does anyone used this and liked it or disliked it? Also, what else is out there that makes math tangible?

[MammaV]

I don't use a curriculum, but we do use a lot of math manipulatives. We do shapes with sidewalk chalk or dry erase markers on our windows. We see what kind of animals/creatures/crazy stuff we can draw with the shapes we know. It's fun and easy to add new shapes to the "game". I also love the colored wooden pattern block shapes. We got a great set from hearthsong.com that comes with a die, a spinner, and other items that make games with these blocks enjoyable and fresh. Graph paper and food is fun to play with too. You can do bar graphs with raisins (golden and red), or candy or whatever. We also play games with dice. We have a set of colorful plastic dice and we practice addition and subtraction with it. We use real money for counting that and a cheap clock for analog time telling. Sticks and leaves we pick up outside can be measured and we have a postage scale I got off ebay for weighing all sorts of stuff. That can be combined with graphing, greater than/less than etc.