Montessori Mathematics for Pre-school

Life is built on mathematical principles; doing anything without understanding math is almost impossible. One of the most important things we can help children with is to develop mathematical skills in their first few years at school. Children who are taught Montessori math in earlier stages of their life will become successful at problem-solving, increase their interest in math, completely dissolve their phobia for math, and make them successful in scientific fields, engineering fields, information technology, physics, and even chemistry.

Montessori Mathematics for Preschool is a course that teaches math by using hands-on methods to help children advance at their own pace. These methods include manipulating bead and stamp material, utilizing strip boards, using physical shapes to learn fractions, and internalizing essential math facts.

Children who learn math the Montessori way are more confident in their math skills, they have a deeper understanding of quantities, and they feel free to experiment and make errors, as the process is emphasized over the product.

Montessori Mathematics for Preschool is based on giving children exposure to concrete materials first, then giving them incremental opportunities to work on more abstract concepts. The children are able to hold materials in their hands, the materials are symbolic or representative (a number, perhaps), and that symbolism changes over time until children are ready to let go of the materials and find solutions on pen and paper or even in their heads (mental math). This idea of mastering a skill without the assistance of materials is referred to as abstraction.

The basic Montessori Mathematical concepts for preschool include:

· Present Concrete materials first and then introduce abstract concepts.

· Teach quantities before the symbols.

· Use attached quantities before introducing loose quantities.

· Always teach in order of sequence, 1, 2, 3…

Montessori Mathematics for Preschool gives children visual and tactile representations of the numbers they are working with. With this foundation, children as young as 4 can be observed in a Montessori classroom working out addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division with numbers in the thousands!