The Montessori hundred board is a math material that helps children put numbers in order from 1 to 100. It’s meant to be used with small number tiles, but we always liked to mix it up a bit during our Montessori homeschool preschool time. We did the hundred board the traditional way, and then explored with other objects to see just how much 100 is!
Do you have a child who likes to collect things? Put their collection on the hundred board to see how many of that item they have! Nora has a huge rock collection, so one day she brought it up to the homeschool room and placed each rock in a square of the hundred board until it was full. Then she knew that she had MORE THAN 100!
If your child’s collection contains items that are too large to fit on the hundred board, you can make one on the ground or a work rug using washi tape or painter’s tape.
You could also use 100 pennies to make a dollar! For older children, you can use the pennies and hundred board to play an exchange game. At the end of each row, exchange the 10 pennies for a dime. Continue until you exchange 10 dimes for a dollar.
Take your hundred board outside (or make a larger one on cardboard) to count the nature finds your children gather. See how many they can spots they can fill!
My girls’ favorite hundred board activity was counting 100 pieces of cereal and then making an edible necklace with them! We used Cheerios, but any cereal of that shape will do.
For holidays, you can use special foods associated with that day! Put out some conversation hearts for Valentine’s Day, or jellybeans for Easter.
Have a kid who loves legos? Put lego blocks in each square, then see how tall a tower built with 100 legos is. Does your child love building with magnatiles? Make a magnatile hundred board and label each one with its number. Combining your child’s interests with Montessori materials is a great way to extend the lesson and make it even more engaging.
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