Ask Micki: Free or cheap math tutoring supplies?

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Question: Hi, Micki. I have a quick question for you. I have just started tutoring really recently, as in a few days ago, and I was wondering if you could help me figure out what supplies to get.

I tutor math to elementary school children, and I am looking for some fun math supplies to get that will make tutoring a little more exciting for my tutees. 

The thing is, I am also on an extremely tight budget.  I'm a single mom to 2 kids, and don't have much expendable income after bills, food, and everyday life expenses.

Any ideas that won't cost anything, but will be fun (and educational) for my little math tutees?
Thanks for your help, Micki,
Angie (ITA tutor from CA) 

Answer: Hi, Angie! Good for you, wanting to make math more fun for the kids while still teaching them what they need to know - your tutees will love you for it! 

The good news is, it doesn't have to cost a fortune to have fun math learning tools on hand for your tutees.  In fact, it can range from free to only a few cents in printing costs.

Your first stop should be right here at ITA!
Check out the resources that we have just for math tutors:
http://www.scribd.com/collections/2907423/Mathematics

Some of these will obviously be a bit out of range for your elementary school math needs, but a lot of them will work great for your tutees.  Best of all, they are free!

There are also some free resources out there for math tutors that can be found online.  Head to your favorite search engine, type in, "printable free math resources," "printable math tutor worksheets free" or something along those lines, and take your pick of some good resources for math tutors.  A word of caution: the majority of these resources will be for personal use only.  In other words, you can't reproduce these and sell them, claim them as your own, etc.  But they should be just fine for what you will be using them for - tutoring your math tutees. 

Last but not least, don't overlook your own creativity! Try your hand at making paper (or clay) pizzas and pies for fraction work, colorful worksheets for addition, fun little quizzes for subtraction, math games, flashcards, etc.  Get creative, keep it colorful, have fun, and ask about what types of things your tutee kids would like to see (Dinosaurs, Cowboys, Sharks, Horses, etc.).  Not sure what age your own children are, but if they are about the same age as your tutees, try running some ideas past them. 

Good luck, and stop by when you get a chance to let us know how things worked out for you!

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