“Children display a universal love of science of precision, order, and intelligence.” ~Maria Montessori
When children have access to the hands on mathematical equipment found in the Montessori classroom, they assimilate many facts and skills of arithmetic. By identifying, combining, sequencing, separating, sharing, counting, distributing, and comparing, children have the opportunity to master the complex and abstract concepts of the Four Operations (+, x, -, ÷).
The colorful and dynamic Math material helps the child learn with greater ease. Number rods, cards, counters, beads and other manipulatives teach children to learn concrete and abstract mathematical concepts, such as the concept of odd and even. The use of concrete materials aids the child in transitioning to abstract math concepts quite naturally.
Mathematics Sequence
- Numeration: Identify Numbers 1 – 9, 0, 10; Sort, Count, and Match Quantities
- Linear Counting: 1 – 100, Teens, Tens, Other Skip Count, Research of Ten
- The Bank: Decimal System (Unit, Ten, Hundred, Thousand), Base of Ten, Place Values
- Large Operations: Using The Bank to conduct equations into the thousands
- Simple Operations: Using manipulatives to conduct one and two digit equations; “The Facts”
- Materials Leading to Abstraction and Memorization: Gradual use of increasingly abstract materials
- Time, Money, and Fractions