At Arbor View Montessori your child will learn the basic concepts of mathematics by using concrete materials during the preschool years when he or she enjoys manipulating material. Dr. Montessori demonstrated that if a child has access to mathematical equipment in the early years, the child can easily and joyfully assimilate many facts and skills of arithmetic. This helps children more readily grasp abstract concepts they will encounter in the elementary grades.
Dr. Montessori designed concrete materials to represent all types of equipment. In the Montessori classroom, the child’s first introduction to numbers is made with a set of red and blue rods representing the quantities one through ten. The teacher helps the child to count the alternating red and blue sections of each rod as he/she arranges them in stair-like formation. The child calls the smallest rod one, the next rod two, and so forth. At about the same time, the child learns the corresponding figures by tracing the numerals in sandpaper. The teacher helps the child place each of the numerals beside the rod illustrating that quantity.