Growing up, the child improves and develops all five senses and may begin to take on more difficult activities such as reading, writing, and understanding numbers from 0 to 9.
The first activity suggested is learning to count the numbers from 0 to 9.
Let’s find out what specific materials the Montessori method has made available to children and how to introduce different activities.
An Introduction to Montessori Mathematics: At School or at Home?
The answer is obvious: both at school and at home. Continuous and repetitive exercise helps a child a lot in his development, both when he is engaged in various activities at school and at home.
The role of an adult, teacher or parent is always the same:
present the material, what it is and what its function is.
This child then has to do the exercise alone, without the help of an adult.
Having access to more stimulating activities will certainly increase your child’s knowledge and development.
The important thing is that he always has a lively and spontaneous interest in carrying out various activities.
Recommended age for the introduction of Montessori math
The 3 to 6 age group is ideal to start introducing your child to Montessori math.
At this age, a child develops an interest in numbers, and we can use his interest and curiosity to let him know about the numbers and assimilate a number from 0 to 9.
Initially, the child only repeats the correct sequence of numbers.
Then it associates the appropriate quantity or measure with the same numbers.
We always respect their time and interests, not forcing him to take any action.
Here is a list of Montessori materials to first understand and associate numbers.
They are all “games” for the child that will help him in his development and formation.
Montessori teaching aids can be easily purchased online. Some of them, however, can be made independently at home, together with the children.
Rough numbers to teach the child to numbers.
These are numbers from 0 to 9, usually cut from sandpaper and glued onto small wooden boards.
The child will be stimulated to recognize the shape of the numbers by sliding the finger over the number.
The same material can also be found on rigid non-wood papers.
Sand tray
This material allows the child to learn how to draw numbers in the sand on his own. When observing the image of the number on a piece of paper or cardboard, he will have to imitate the trace in the sand.
It is a very simple DIY build: just have a tray and put some sand into it. Then we prepare 10 hard sheets on which we write the numbers from 0 to 9, and our sand tray is ready for use.
Numeric beams
Number beams are wooden bars of different lengths that have alternating red and blue colors. And these are matched cards with numbers from 1 to 10.
This game is for a child to start counting numbers from 1 to 10 and associate each number with the correct amount.
