Where no order number appears, teachers are advised to consult the various companies listed in this section and make choices after comparing prices and quality. Wherever possible, small quantities of manipulatives should be ordered as preview materials before final ordering decisions are made. A restocking fee will be charged. The tiles are coloured on both sides, one colour for positive expressions and the other colour for negative expressions. The number and size of the tiles vary greatly from supplier to supplier.
Balances come in a variety of sizes and shapes with varying degrees of quality.
While it is possible to construct very basic balances, for precise accuracy better quality instruments may be purchased. Various balances have different capabilities, such as removable buckets or clear buckets. Balances can compare masses, confirm simple addition, subtraction, and multiplication facts, and introduce solving equations. A variety of weights and masses are available for purchase, although collected items would work well for this. Base Ten materials may be purchased in many formats or may be constructed as simply as gluing 10 bean seeds on a popsicle stick.