I first discovered Wrap-Ups when I was about eight. My mother found them in a school supply store and brought them home. We were all thrilled to find a math tool that could help us master the horrible, terrible world of math, for that is how we viewed it at the time.
My sisters and I were all homeschooled, and we took after my mom in that math did not come easily to us. But with the Wrap-Ups, we were able to overcome some of those mental blocks and learn the concepts that we needed to learn.
Wrap-Ups are key-shaped pieces of plastic with grooves running down both sides. On the left side is a series of numbers, on the right side is another series of numbers, and in the center is one number. A string is attached on the upper left hand corner, and you use it to indicate your answer. It works like this:
Say I was doing multiplication, and I had picked up the Wrap-Up with the number one in the middle. This would mean I was doing the one multiplication table. The first number on the left hand side is a 3. My question then would be 1X3. Looking across to the other column of numbers, I find a 3, which is my answer. I take the string and lay it across the Wrap-Up, hooking it into the groove next to the 3. Then I bring the string around the back and place it in the groove next in line, and I continue from there. Essentially what I’m doing is wrapping the string around and around the key, hence the name of the product.
When I have done the entire key, I flip it over. Lines are marked on the back which show me where the string should be going. If I missed an answer, the string wouldn’t be following the lines, and I could see where I had gone wrong. It’s complicated to describe, but very easy to understand once you see how it’s done.
I found a set of Wrap-Ups for my own children just recently. The design has changed somewhat; now the keys are hooked together, rather than coming separately. But the concept is the same and the learning potential is the same. My children are gobbling them up. My daughter is learning her 6X and doing very well, whereas before, she was falling a little bit behind. The appeal is in the way it’s set up like a game, and it’s something that the children can do themselves without supervision, once they get the hang of it.
I think this is a fantastic learning tool whether you homeschool or send your children to a traditional school. Who couldn’t benefit from more practice with math?
Wrap-Ups are available in multiplication, division, adding and subtracting, and you can find them at your local school supply store.