Montessori Hundred Board didactic mathematical material can be used to create heart-shaped patterns as a fun numeracy activity for Valentine’s Day.
Montessori Hundred Board is a math material in a Montessori curriculum meant to teach numbers 11-99, and by creating heart-shaped patterns, we are adding Valentine’s twist to it. The hundred Board consists of a blank board and wooden numbers from 1- 100. Adrian is referencing a control chart with all the numbers filled in, so he is not assembling the entire board from memory.
The objective is memorization and an understanding of numbers and their sequence. Also, this material trains the child to work from left to right, top to bottom while teaching counting and skip counting, number recognition, number sequencing, patterning, and much more.
How to Assemble Montessori 100 Board
To assemble the hundred board, first, invite your child to sort number tiles into groups of ten: either using piles, small baskets, small jars, vertically creating columns, etc.
Then, offer a child to fill in the rows by taking a tens-pile at a time. Adrian is working with the 60’s pile.
A child will proceed to fill the board to one hundred.
100 Board Valentine’s Twist with Hearts
To add Valentine’s spirit to this activity, I made a heart pattern on a control chart using heart stickers and invited Adrian to reproduce it on a Hundred Board using felt glitter hearts.
How to Modify Montessori 100 Board for Younger Children
With smaller children, who cannot sequentially place numbers on the board yet, skip the assembly part and offer a board with numbers 1-100 already in it.
Then invite a child to reconstruct the pattern from the control chart, “making” a heart on the board using counters (e.g. red marbles, craft hearts, stickers, etc.). Such practice will promote concentration and fine motor skills as a child must be precise in placing hearts on their corresponding numbers.
In the process of having to find the number on the board to cover it with a heart, a child is inevitably learning number placement, memorization, and sequencing.
Montessori Hundred Board Heart-Shape
The heart-shaped pattern added a fun aspect to an activity that otherwise might seem overwhelming and mundane to a smaller child. Adrian definitely had fun with it!
Have you tried introducing a Hundred Board? Leave a comment if you did!
For More 100 Board Activities …
For a detailed lesson on how to present a Hundred Board, read here “Montessori Hundred Board at 3 Yo.”
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