Subtraction with Counters
Take counters away and look at what's left: subtraction becomes a motion.
Subtraction with Counters is a Montessori activity for a child aged 4 to 6 years. Area: Early Math. Time: 15 min.
What the activity builds
Remove one quantity from another and see what remains. Subtraction is seen before it's written: the counters taken away go into a dish, the ones that remain sit right there, in plain view. The result isn't an answer to find, it's what's already in front of you.
The materials
- About twenty identical counters
- Two small dishes: one for the reserve, one for what's removed
- Cards with the numerals 1 through 10, if your child already recognizes them
How to do it, step by step
- Line up seven counters in front of your child, well spaced, and count them together.
- Say, "we take away three," and remove three into the dish.
- Recount what's left on the table: four.
- They start again with a different starting number, they remove, they recount.
- If they read numerals, they lay out the cards: seven, minus three, equals four.
The parent's role
Never ask, "how much is left," before they've removed the counters: the question turns a hands-on task into a quiz. They remove, then they count what remains, in that order. If the count is wrong, slide the remaining counters one by one while they count out loud, without giving the answer. Show once, then step back.
Safety
Wide counters, never coins or small objects that could be swallowed. Adult present.
You remain the sole judge of what is right for your child. These activities are offered for educational and recreational purposes: they do not replace medical advice or the guidance of an early childhood professional.
Ways to adapt the activity
- Easier: starting from five counters and removing only one.
- Harder: removing every counter and discovering zero, which isn't nothing, it's none.
- Next step: sharing a number of counters between two people, equally.
Up next
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