Montessori Stamp Game: Free Interactive Version
Updated · By Edulist · 6 sources
Keyboard and touch help
- Drag a piece from the tray onto the board, or press a tray button (Enter) to add it in the next spot.
- Tab to a piece. Arrow keys move it (Shift for bigger steps). Space adds it to the selection.
- D duplicates, R rotates, G exchanges up a group, B breaks a piece apart, Delete removes it.
- Ctrl+Z undoes and Ctrl+Shift+Z redoes (Cmd on a Mac).
- Drag across empty space to select several pieces. Drop pieces on the trash or back on the tray to delete them.
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How to use it
- Lay out a number
Drag stamps onto the mat, or tap a stamp (or press Enter) to place it in its column: green units on the right, then blue tens, red hundreds and green thousands.
- Exchange
When a column has ten stamps, select them and press Exchange up, or use the exchange button under the number. Select one stamp and press Break to exchange it for ten of the next smaller value.
- Read the result
The readout shows the number and how many stamps are in each column. Column counts at the bottom of the mat turn red when a column needs an exchange.
- Work the task cards
Eight cards cover making a number, exchanging, static and dynamic addition and subtraction, multiplication, and exchanging down.
Printables to go with it
What the stamp game is
The stamp game is the Montessori material that sits between the golden beads and paper. It's a box of small square tiles, called stamps, printed with 1, 10, 100 or 1000, plus small figures called skittles for division. Every stamp is the same size, so a child can't tell a hundred from a ten by looking at its size. They have to read it. That's the step toward abstraction: the stamp stands for a quantity the child already knows from the golden beads.
The colors follow the Montessori hierarchy used across the math materials:
| Stamp | Color | Place |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | green | units |
| 10 | blue | tens |
| 100 | red | hundreds |
| 1000 | green | thousands |
Green returns for the thousands because the pattern of units, tens and hundreds starts again with each family of three places. Later, children use the same colors on the bead frame and see why big numbers are grouped in threes with commas.
The stamps on this board use those colors with white numerals, and the mat's column headings match. Ten stamps of one value exchange for one stamp of the next, and the number never changes when you exchange.
How to play the stamp game
- Lay out the first number. For 3,721, put 1 green unit stamp, 2 blue tens, 7 red hundreds and 3 green thousands in their columns. In a classroom the child lays each stamp out in front of the compartment it came from; here, tapping a stamp places it in its column.
- Lay out the second number below it (for addition) or take stamps away (for subtraction).
- Start with the units. Push the units together and count. If there are ten or more, exchange ten for one ten stamp and move it to the tens.
- Move left. Do the same for tens, then hundreds.
- Read the answer. Count each column from the thousands down and write it.
Stamp game lessons
| Lesson | Example | What's new |
|---|---|---|
| Making numbers | 3,721 | Read a number and lay it out; read a layout and write it. |
| Static addition | 2,314 + 1,452 = 3,766 | Combine; no column reaches ten. |
| Dynamic addition | 1,587 + 2,346 = 3,933 | Exchange ten units for a ten, ten tens for a hundred. |
| Static subtraction | 4,526 − 1,342 = 3,184 | Take away; every column has enough. |
| Dynamic subtraction | 5,203 − 2,678 = 2,525 | Exchange down: a hundred for ten tens, a ten for ten units. |
| Multiplication | 3 × 1,324 = 3,972 | Lay out the number three times, combine and exchange. |
| Division | 936 ÷ 3 | Share stamps among skittles, exchanging down when needed. |
The first seven activities are task cards beside the board, and each checks itself.
Tips for families and guides
- Golden beads first. The stamp game works best when a child has already exchanged with the golden beads and knows what a hundred really is.
- Always start with units. In both addition and subtraction, working from the right matches the written algorithm the child will use later.
- Say "exchange". Montessori children exchange at the bank; they don't carry or borrow. The word reminds them that nothing is lost.
- Write as you go. Have the child write the problem and answer on paper. The exchanges they make are the little numbers they'll write above the columns later.
- Use the counts. The numbers at the bottom of each column show how many stamps are there. A red count means ten or more, time to exchange.
- Let the child check. Press Hide value while the child works, then show it to confirm.
Common mistakes and what to do
| What you see | What it means | Try |
|---|---|---|
| Puts a blue ten stamp in the units column | Reads the color, not the place | Ask the child to read the numeral aloud, then find the column with the same name. |
| Writes 3,13 for 3 thousands, 13 hundreds | Hasn't exchanged | Count the hundreds; when there are ten, exchange them for a thousand stamp. |
| Exchanges ten stamps and loses the value | Thinks exchange means "take away" | Press Undo and compare the number before and after. It doesn't change. |
| Subtracts the smaller digit from the bigger in each column | Avoids exchanging down | Lay out the first number only, then take stamps away one column at a time. |
Making a stamp game at home
A home stamp game can be paper squares in four colors with the numerals written on them, at least 20 of each, kept in a box with four compartments. Use green for 1 and 1000, blue for 10 and red for 100, and write the numerals in a contrasting color. Small wooden peg figures or game pieces in the same colors work as skittles for division. Use the interactive version for practice and to check answers.
Recording the work
After each problem, the child writes it on paper: the two numbers, the answer, and, when ready, the small exchanged digits above the columns. Printing the board gives a record for a work journal, with the problem and the number on the page. Over time, children start to make the exchanges in their heads and write the answer straight away, which is the goal.
Where the stamp game fits
Montessori math moves from quantity to symbol in small steps. Number rods and spindle boxes come first, then the golden beads, then the stamp game, then the small and large bead frames, and finally paper. Each step is a little more abstract than the last. The stamp game is the first material where a child computes with symbols, but the symbols are still objects to move. See all the Montessori math materials.
Outside Montessori, the closest tool is place value disks, which also put the value on a same-size piece. Families comparing approaches may find the Waldorf vs Montessori guide helpful, and Montessori math programs lists products that follow the method or borrow from it.
Prefer to work with beads a little longer? The golden beads and the stamp game use exactly the same exchanges, so children can move back and forth between them as needed.
Sources
- Berkshire Montessori School: Montessori Materials, The Stamp Game
- White Bear Montessori School: Material Highlight, The Stamp Game
- The Global Montessori Network: Stamp Game Addition
- Owl Tree Montessori: The Stamp Game for Lower Elementary Math
- The Wonderful World of Montessori: The Stamp Game, a bridging exercise
- American Montessori Society: Montessori Early Childhood programs
Questions
What are the stamp game colors?
Green for units (1), blue for tens (10), red for hundreds (100) and green again for thousands (1000). The pattern repeats because each family of three places, units, thousands, millions, starts again with green, which later helps children understand commas in big numbers.
What age is the stamp game for?
Usually around ages 5 to 7, after a child is comfortable exchanging with the golden beads. It's used through lower elementary for the four operations.
What is the difference between static and dynamic addition?
Static addition needs no exchanging: every column adds up to 9 or less, such as 2,314 + 1,452. Dynamic addition needs exchanging: a column reaches 10 or more, such as 1,587 + 2,346, and ten stamps are exchanged for one of the next value.
What are the skittles in the stamp game?
Small wooden figures in the same colors, used for division. Each skittle stands for one share, and stamps are dealt out under the skittles. This online version covers building numbers, addition, subtraction and multiplication.
How is the stamp game different from the golden beads?
The golden beads show quantity: a hundred square really has 100 beads. In the stamp game, every stamp is the same size and the value is printed on it. That makes it a bridge from the beads to written numbers.
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