We made this Stamp Game PDF from Dr. Montessori’s original work: Paper stamp strips that children cut themselves.
The downloadable PDF is at the bottom of this post.
5432 + 1241 = ?
It’s easy!
Children can see exactly what is happening by cutting and arranging the stamps.
You can see how simple subtraction can be, too! Your child takes a pair of scissors, counts, and snips.
Once children understand the quantities behind these numbers, it is enjoyable for them to learn this abstract work. Remember to start with the hands-on quantities in Primary Two.
Clay is perfect for making 3D division skittles, but I’ve included printable ones here to get you started.
Step-by-step instructions and examples are in our Primary Three album.
As you work with advanced Golden Bead exercises, make equations with bigger numbers, so that you run out of beads. You can suggest borrowing from the Stamp Game. For example, “I know, you can take a 1000 from the Stamp Game. We just have to remember that it represents the thousand cube we do not have.”
As your child counts the Golden Beads during the exercise, the little 1000 stamp will become part of the exercise. Later, it will be simple to introduce the Stamp Game.
Your child can put these stamps into envelopes with the number written in color on the outside.
Nienhuis inspired my work by irritating me with the announcement that they are now using “acrylic glass” to make stamps for the Stamp Game. “Acrylic glass” is actually a marketing name for Polymethyl methacrylate. Not glass.