A teepee, pallankuzhi and some multiplications

This post is not about ‘How not to make a Teepee’.  I know that it’s a poorly made teepee. But, my little one enjoyed the hot sunny day sitting in the teepee in our backyard.  She learnt some mathematics with our traditional game ‘Pallanguzhi(Pallankuli)’. 

Pallankuli is a traditional south Indian board game with 14 pits and 70 cowry shells or tamarind seeds.  If you are new to ‘Pallanguli’ visit  or watch this video.

I used our pallanguli board for teaching multiplication. Initially, I used the board to demonstrate about ‘groups of 2’, ‘groups of 3’ etc. Then, I introduce her how second multiplication table to be formed.  She put 2 cowry shells in the first pit and wrote one ‘2’ is ‘2’ (1X2=2). Then she put 2 shells in the second pit,counted and wrote two ‘2’s are ‘4’ (2X2=4) and continued.  Soon she herself learnt that by adding the multiplicand to the previous answer, the next answer can be found.

Of course, it’s similar to using Montessori gold beads. But, I think this method helps counting easier and also helps improving fine motor skills. If you do not have pallankuli, use ice trays.