How To Use Montessori Math Materials

Montessori math materials are among the materials that attract the most attention from children and adults alike. The math materials are intricate, colourful and inspire a lot of awe.

It is not uncommon to hear people say that they don’t like math or that they just aren’t good at math. However, more often than not, the latter is not the case. This mindset is usually a result of the fact that the traditional way of teaching math is not interactive and engaging and, as a result, many students struggle with it.

The first thing that you need to understand is that Montessori math is different. The Montessori math method focuses on exploration through the senses. These students work on their math in an interactive manner involving hands-on learning, manipulating concrete materials to learn math in a completely different way.

The Philosophy Behind Math Materials Montessori

Maria Montessori believed that children could learn various mathematical concepts naturally -- in other words, there were periods in a child’s life when they would explore these concepts with concrete materials and repetition.

You will not see a teacher standing at a chalkboard, lecturing about boring math facts and equations. Instead, you will see students learning from actually doing. The emphasis is taking something abstract, like math, and making it concrete so the students can better understand it.

Understanding this philosophy can help you understand how Montessori math materials work; ultimately, there are many different math materials and they all work differently.

The idea here is that students will work with concrete, scientifically developed didactic materials in their learning. This can involve things like ordering materials, looking for patterns, or doing hands-on activities such as measurement.

What Are Some Of The Math Materials At Montessori?

One of the main math materials at Montessori that you will hear about is the Montessori Math Cabinet.

These cabinets help children with all forms of math, such as simple addition and subtraction, as well as other topics like the decimal system and understanding units.

In this way, students are not subjected to the standard, written method of 2+2=4. Instead, they manipulate the materials to actually see what those equations mean so they understand it on a more intuitive level and in a more natural way.

Thinkamajigs offers high-quality, value-priced math materials as well as other teaching materials, educational toys, games, puzzles and more, all of which you can view in our catalog here. We ship anywhere in North America. Contact us for more information.