#Montessori Math

Supplies

Buttons/counters, paper cups

Instructions

1. Take a bunch of cups and buttons or bingo counters.
2. To divide a number- example 21 by 3:
   • Use 3 paper cups to represent 3 groups.
   • Take 21 counters and start adding one by one in each cup. Explain to kids that we are equally dividing counters among 3 cups.
   • Count the number of counters in one cup to show how many counter per group.
   • Remember – The number of buttons in each group is the quotient. So in 21 ÷ 3, quotient is 8.
3. Another example, to divide an imperfect number, say 20 by 3,
   • Use 3 paper cups to represent 3 groups.
   • Take 20 buttons and start adding buttons in each cup one by one until you have equal number of buttons in each group.
   • Place the remaining buttons if any, outside the cups.
   • The number of buttons in each group is the quotient and the number of buttons left out is the remainder. So in 20 ÷ 3, quotient is 6 and remainder is 2.

Remember:

• The number of cups represents the divisor
• The number of buttons in each cup represents the quotient
• The number of buttons remaining after equal distribution represent the remainder

More Math Visualization

Hands-on Multiplication