This is Mushroom using Cuisenaire rods and Hands-on-Equations pieces to work variables puzzles in Beast Academy. He was supremely happy as he did it. It made the puzzles easier, but once he had done them this way, doing them without the manipulatives was a breeze.
If anyone out there is interested in the Hands on Equations program, I highly recommend it. Both the boys enjoyed it and, as you can see, it occasionally comes out as a visual reminder of the principles they learned. As well, I highly recommend sticking Cuisenaire rods and base ten blocks in there to use, which allows for bigger numbers and more complexity as well as a more clear visual representation of the numbers.
I Capture the Rowhouse 
Our local consignment sale’s going on this week, which reminded me that I grabbed a Cuisenaire set there for a song last year–maybe it’s time to start playing with it! This year I got a spring-loaded multiplication table where you can punch a little square to pop up the answer, with neat rows for each digit. I always enjoy your math posts.
Ooh, I like those spring loaded math tables too. If you’re wondering what in the world to do with the C-rods, there are really good videos at Education Unboxed.