Free Printable Number Cards

We have used so many different kinds of flash cards over the years. That sort of makes it sound like we’re flash card heavy around here, and we really aren’t. We do try to use a wide variety of materials to introduce new concepts and to review concepts, everything from numbers, to colors, types of animals, French and Spanish words, presidents, world landmarks… you get the idea, and flash cards is but one option.

Number flash cards are something that we have used over and over again. Some of our children have been super math whizzes (like their mom, who lettered twice on her high school math team, yes, there is such thing as a high school math team, and yes, I take every opportunity I can to make mention of it, it may have been my only claim to fame those years) and others of our children have required more purposeful and determined effort (it came less naturally) with learning math concepts and with acquiring the instant recall that is pretty much necessary to move ahead in math.

I may be a natural born worry wart when it comes to things like health & safety, finances, and ungodly influences on my children, but when it comes to struggles in learning, or the possibility that one (or more, gasp!) of our children may be “behind” in a particular subject at some point or another in their educational career- I don’t panic. I’ve known too many older and wiser homeschooling moms with late talkers, late walkers, late readers and late math-ers. I know, math-ers isn’t a word, but I’m silly like that some days. You should see the ones I never write down…

Because I have been through a late math-er and am currently working with another (with a math whippersnapper in between), I know firsthand of the importance of repetition, and the value of coming at a concept from a variety of angles.

One of the ways we use these number cards is to build a number line. Actually building a number line does so much more to cement the concept in a learner than just looking at or seeing a number line. Some kids are more visual learners, some more auditory, and I suppose learning styles and recognizing them in the homeschool environment is the subject for its own post, but for this post it’s enough to say that building a number line covers about every learning style.

There is a visual aspect of seeing the numbers, there is an auditory aspect as we say the numbers, and there is a kinesthetic aspect in the hands-on manipulation of the numbers. You can take this further by putting 5 of something, or 6 of something (or whatever number you’re on, you get the point) next to the number, or you could draw 7 dots on the 7 card (and by you, I mean your learner/child), or you could jump or clap 7 times or I could go on and on- use your imagination, the possibilities are endless!

I’ve made a few different sets of cards for learning and playing with around here, and have been adding them to my printables page as I get the chance. Here is the link to a beginning set of 1-10: