Montessori Teen Board … on the fly

We were in the middle of a few learning activities the other day and were struggling with a solid grasp of teens. I had been wanting to make a teen board for her for a while…so got right on it, quick and easy, without any overthinking about materials or processes. All about the function really is just fine sometimes! I am needing to make bead bars for her math work. So much to do!!! For now we have been using horse chesnuts, buttons, and (on the day pictured) little plastic shapes.

I got her started sorting the plastic bits by color and shape and got to work myself on the teen board. She worked with me at the end which is always fun. She really likes helping to make some of her “school things.”

How to Make a Montessori Teen Board:

Materials:

Poster board

Sharpie (permanent marker)

Ruler

Paper cutter or scissors

Step 1. Cut the poster board to 4” x 30”. I was working with poster board that was smaller than “normal” so ended up having to make mine in two sections. Doesn’t change the effectiveness of the activity at all! Also cut a strip of poster board 2”x 30”. Again…I was working with smaller board so have two of these strips also.

(Yes…I use my quilting rulers and cutting board for paper all the time…especially on big projects! Just keep a rotary cutter just for paper and be prepared to replace the blade a bit more often than your fabric blade!! I learned this trick in art school!)

Step 2. Draw lines with your marker across the 4” x 30” strip of poster board every 3”.

Step 3. Lay the 2” x 30” strip over the right half of the 4”x 30” strip.

Step 4. Mark a “1” in each space.

Step 5. Lay the 2” x 30” strip over the left half of the 4”x 30” strip.

Step 6. Mark a “0” in each space. Now you have a long strip of 10’s.

Step 7. Cut the 2” x 30” strip of poster board into 2” x 3” segments.

Step 8. Write the numbers 1-9 on the 2” x 3” segments.

You’re done! Wasn’t that easy! Check out this sight for ideas of how to introduce the teen board.