Montessori Math:

So Arav had started writing numbers from 1 to 10. In his Montessori school, math is taught in a very interesting manner. He learnt to count numbers by working on their quantities first with the use of  golden beads. Next he went on to learn the numbers' symbols from number cards.  The next step would be to relate to quantities using cards and vice versa. Now, he has learnt to write from 1 to 10, tens from 10 to 20 and hundreds 100 to 900 and also 1000. He has shown interest in every step.

Yesterday, after school, he came up to me and proudly announced that he did the change game with aunty. In the change game, children learn about changing heirarchies in numbers from units to tens, tens to hundreds, hundreds to thousands. Any child who has learnt the change game, would be able to form quantities, arrange them according to their heirarchies (tens, hundreds and so on ) and finally change the heirarchies as needed to arrive at the actual quantity. Finally they relate that quantity to symbols by using number cards.

All this is done with the help of solid materials which visually and physically helps the child to understand quantity and their relative symbols. Though heirarchies are complex for a 4 year old to understand, the change game helps them to grasp the concept and work on the material repetitively. So it is not just about writing down or rambling away numbers but more about understanding their quantities, symbols, heirarchy levels. Each aspect is taught seperately and then the learning is consolidated.

Now if only I had learnt math this way, my outlook on the subject might have changed...!