Making Wooden Dice for Maths Blocks

A fun activity for your maths block can be making your own dice. For those without wood carving/cutting tools, you can purchase square cubes at the local crafts shop, along with an inexpensive wood burning tool.

This was my first experience with burning wood and it is a lot more challenging than I thought. Perhaps if my tool was higher end, it would be easier to control, but it was fascinating to see how the wood takes to the various points, how the amount of time placed on the wood and the amount of pressure used can really make a difference in the outcome. In any case, I had fun making several sets to keep in our math basket. I made both traditional and sets with the Roman numerals. I also made some with the four processes so that we could use them in various games we'll be designing throughout our adventure.

When the burning is done, the blocks can be polished, if desired. I love my beeswax polish from Palumba and it can be found here.

Then, it's nice to have something to store the dice in so they don't get lost. This gorgeous silk velvet pouch handmade by the artists of Syrendell is perfect for storing the dice. It comes in many different colors and two different sizes. I think mine is the small one. If you are using large dice, you might want to purchase a medium. Just zip it up, throw in your math basket and you're good to go!

If you're more handy, then here is a wonderful tutorial on making your own zipper pouch! Have fun!