Number Balance

Ref:

Children love exploring adding and multiplying using the number balance. Help your child see plenty of ways of making a chosen number, eg, 6. This can be made in any of the following ways (as well as many more):
6 weights placed on number 1
2 weights placed on number 3
3 placed on number 2
1 weight placed on number 5 and another placed on number 1
2 weights placed on number 1 and another placed on number 4
3 weights placed on number 1 and another placed on number 3
4 weights placed on number 1 and another placed on number 2

Let your child investigate all the other ways. As your child places the tiles on the balance, he/she will begin to see if the weights are balanced on both sides or if one side needs to be adjusted. Encourage your child to say which numbers they have used and record all the possibilities they have found. Challenge them to find five different ways first and then ten ways.

I have found this particular number balance to be the only accurate one, having tried and tested many of those that are available. Those that are inaccurate add to children's confusion rather than clarifying number bonds and multiplication facts. What appeals to the children most is exploring numbers by their 'weight'!