Understanding the Montessori Math Curriculum

Mathematics is everywhere around us, and the key to understanding advanced mathematical concepts is to clearly understand all the concepts before learning the other. This includes children learning their basic mathematical concepts with Montessori, which is focused on sensory characteristics.

Here’s what the Montessori curriculum includes in their mathematics -

A tactile experience

The Montessori maths curriculum offers a tactile experience to children, where a child can use their senses to understand the mathematical concepts like using materials that are visually appealing to a child’s mind or wooden materials that have distinctive weight to them. For example, the material for number 1’s weight will always be lower than the one for number 10.

There are also materials made of glass which appeal to children of varied ages. Younger ones use these glass beads for counting, while others use them for more danced mathematics concepts like addition and subtraction.

Mathematical Operations

Montessori allows the children to learn 4 different mathematical concepts in a variety of ways. This understanding of math changes over time as the curriculum changes from abstract to concrete. Using manipulatives, the children work on concepts like addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, followed by math facts.

Manipulatives are used to count numbers up to 9999, and other materials are used for understanding math facts and concepts.

Quantity and Numeration

In this part of the curriculum, children start learning about the concepts of numbers. It includes memorising the number serially, and understanding that 1 is a single unit, and similarly 10 is ten units. To understand the units, various materials are available here too. The concept of zero is also one of the things the children learn here. One of the common materials to learn the concept of zero includes the spindle box, where the zero box has nothing in it as opposed to other boxes.

Apart from these, they use number rods, cards and counters available for a better understanding of the concepts.

Decimal System

To understand the decimal system, Montessori used Golden Beads. For hands-on experience with decimal numbers, there are glass beads for units and bars for tens, which are used with squares for hundreds and cubes for thousands. These materials can be used to understand or teach the concept of place values upto 9999.

Golden beads are a set of materials that helps in the concept of various concepts like:

Decimal system basics

Identifying the place values and understanding the quality of each part of units, tens, hundreds, and thousands.

45 layout

Refers to the 45-unit beads, 45 ten bars, and so on.

Mathematical operation

Golden beads are used for the concepts of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

Conclusion

Rise Montessori Nursery is a Montessori education in Pinner that offers the concepts of mathematics in the most Montessori way possible. They have all the required materials for all required concepts of mathematics, helping children learn easily without failing.

Apart from teaching the children with Montessori philosophy, Rise Montessori also helps the parents with the daily activity log of their child to help them be an active part of their children’s learning journey.