First Steps to Mathematics

Maria Montessori believed that the children can absorb mathematical concepts naturally. She recognized that there were sensitive periods in the child’s development whereby the acquisition of mathematics was eagerly and joyfully explored through indirect preparation and repetition of activities with concrete, scientifically developed didactic materials. By means of Montessori Practical Life and Sensorial activities, children experience the concepts of order, sequence, measurement, calculations, and exactness.

1️⃣ 𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕠𝕣𝕚 ℙ𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕝 𝕃𝕚𝕗𝕖

Math can be integrated with real-life activities. Practical life activities help children develop a sense of order and logical thinking. Learning to count by rote is the easiest activity to build into your daily life. (Example: count how many spoonfuls you need to add when cooking; count steps from 1 - 10 when out walking etc..)

Children learn about making calculations and estimating by determining how many drops of water it takes to fill a jar and about precision and exactness by learning to measure out how much sugar is needed for baking. These Montessori Practical Life activities not only help the child gain independence, but also provide the indirect preparation for higher level math skills.

2️⃣ 𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕠𝕣𝕚 𝕊𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕒𝕝 𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕖𝕤

It helps the child learn to discriminate between similarities and differences. Children discover relationships, make scientific hypothesis, and draw conclusions as they construct and compare a series of sensorial activities. The activities heighten the child’s awareness of the mathematical relationships found in the natural world.

3️⃣ 𝔹𝕒𝕤𝕚𝕔 𝕠𝕗 𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕙 - ℂ𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘

Once the child grasps the concept of counting, he/she can then be taught the basic mathematical concepts & operations with the help of games and hands-on learning materials which require mathematical skills. Concrete materials is used to introduce abstract concepts and give a sequential understanding of mathematical concepts.