Exploring Shapes: The Perfect Introduction to Mathematical Learning

This is the latest in a series of regular blogs from Barbara Isaacs, Academic Director of Montessori Centre International, Europe’s No.1 Montessori Teacher Training Organisation.

Amongst the proposed changes to the EYFS is an expansion of the early learning goals for mathematics. In recent consultations practitioners have been urged to reflect on the goal which expects children to be able to count to 20 and also add, double and divide. It somehow overlooks the skills which form the foundation of mathematical thinking, skills which need to be understood before we start formal instruction in arithmetic and the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Long before children are capable of this we introduce them to shapes, to matching and pairing, sorting and grouping, as well as sharing out. These skills and activities prepare children for later mathematical operations and for later systematic study of geometry.

While the mere mention of ‘geometry’ will cause anxiety for many, young and old, very young children have no qualms in exploring 3D shapes almost from birth. Think of the rattles, fluffy cubes and squeezable balls they’re given to welcome them into the world, or the diverse shapes they play with as they lie under the ‘baby gym’. Then, as they become mobile, toddlers begin to build a wide range of structures reflecting their interests and experiences as they use construction toys. In most nurseries the unit blocks which originated with Froebel’s gifts are a much-loved resource because they give children opportunities to create and represent towers, houses, castles and airports, and roads on which to wheel their favourite cars. Whilst this play takes place, they compare and absorb the relationships of the various prisms that form the foundation of what the unit blocks offer.

 

Playing with blocks also affords children opportunities to explore symmetry, learn about the relationships between the blocks and come to appreciate empty spaces and the light which shines through their structures – the essential principles of architecture as we know it today. Many young children’s creations demonstrate a real appreciation of forms.

 

Shaping their future

 

Montessori nurseries have a large collection of solid and flat shapes to be explored by the children in what is known as the ‘sensorial’ area. They comprise a set of 10 graded-in-size pink cubes, brown prisms and red rods, as well as a range of cylinders organised by colour according to diminishing circumference and height. These serve as interesting learning tools in their own right, helping children understand the relationships in size and sequence. But it’s when they are combined and used in conjunction with the unit blocks that we often see their value in supporting children’s learning. They come to be used as symbols to represent the child’s thinking whilst constructing a castle, tower or the Taj Mahal, offering us a real insight into the child’s understanding of the materials and their creative abilities.

We also combine the solid shapes with the flat shapes to highlight the structure of the solids and as a preparation for learning names such as ‘square based pyramid’, ‘triangular based prism’, ‘hemisphere cone’ or ‘ovoid’. Children are exposed to a wide range of flat shapes with which to tessellate or draw around to make patterns – at first commonly encountered examples, but also more unusual shapes such as curvilinear triangle, oval and ellipse and the quatrefoil. As children explore these we introduce their names, which soon become part and parcel of their vocabulary. I believe this exploration and spontaneous play combined with the use of proper names gives young children a solid foundation in geometry that will serve them well in later life.

Learning Together

 

A new parenting book from Montessori St Nicholas is taking a fresh look at family life...

 

Building Strong Foundations: What Montessori can offer your family aims to help parents put their children at the heart of the home and to unlock their amazing potential. Available from March 24th, the book can be ordered at montessori.org.uk/bookstore or by calling 020 7493 8300.

 

Keep Up The Good Work!

Since my last blog post, we are officially in Spring (although it doesn't feel much like it as I sit here shivering!) and I have entered a new phase in my Distance Learning Early Childhood course. My assignments have finally all been done and marked and I have a permission to sit exams letter.

For at least a couple of days, I felt pretty pleased with myself. It felt like a huge milestone to have reached, finally, the end of assignments; the end of a road I have been travelling along for some months. A momentous occasion.

My joy at receiving this piece of paper was short-lived though. Yes, it did mean that there would be no more assignments. But I still have lots of work to do for my teaching practice. And what this letter also meant was that there would be exams. After two days of skipping around feeling happy, there was the realisation that in a few weeks' time, I would be eligible to do examinations. 

Actual examinations. Me, in a room, armed only with a pen, a piece of paper and my brain. The nervousness kicked in shortly after that mental image...

Let's just say, it's been a little while since I last sat in an examinations room, waiting to hear the magic words 'You may turn over your papers... now'; the combination of fear and adrenalin coursing through my veins as my eyes tried to focus on the printed paper in front of me. I might look a bit different from the student I was then; a few years may have elapsed, but that special exam feeling is easy to conjure up. 

And here I am, about to willingly put myself through all that again.

Many, although not all, of the distance learning students are like me and have not done exams recently.  

I was lucky enough to make the trip to London to attend a seminar at MCI, on Preparation for the Written Exams. I was so pleased to see some familiar faces amongst the other students, and to meet some new ones too. Penny, our tutor, asked us to set up the room as if it were an exam hall and we sat facing the front in our individual desks. She put a question paper, face down, in front of each of us and then asked us to turn it over. A frisson went round the room; even though it was an exercise this time, the anxious memories that came flooding back were all too real.

We were asked to share our feelings and I was relieved to hear I wasn't the only one who was apprehensive about the prospect of exams. We worked through these feelings one by one and soon, the other students and I had faced our fears. By the time we left, we were all much happier. We had been given some strategies now, for revision and for the exams themselves and felt better prepared for what lies ahead.

Facing our fears meant we were able to overcome them together. 

It has been a tough few months - I have been combining teaching practice and doing assignments at the same time, which has been challenging enough - but also because the Winter has brought with it the usual toil on the family's health, another thing we have had to deal with, on top of my college commitments. At one point, every member of my family was sick, including my baby, pictured above getting to grips with her treasure basket. It was a hard slog trying to keep going through all of that but finally, we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

Spring is here, assignments are over. I have a lot of work left to do - my teaching practice continues, and exams are looming, but I can see the end just glimmering over the horizon - the chance to gain the qualification I have worked so hard for, and with it the possibility that I will get to work with children in the amazing way that Montessori devised.

The exams will undeniably be hard work, but as Montessori said, 'work...should be a source of great satisfaction'. It will all be worth it, in the end. 

I wish all the other students preparing for their exams lots of luck. 

The Greatest Gift?

 

 

Read a new blog from one of our Distance Learning students, Catherine Baignent.

The more time I spend around children, whether working with them during my teaching practice in the Montessori classroom, or interacting with my own children or their friends at home, the more I realise how amazing they are.

One of the really fantastic things about studying for the Early Childhood Course, has been the opportunity to do lots of research into child development, to study various psychologists, pedagogues and theorists, to gain a better understanding of the child and of the effects adults and wider society can have on them – good and bad.

Another brilliant thing has been the opportunity to get into the classroom during my teaching practice. As a Distance Learning student, I have to spend the same amount of time teaching to qualify as the full-time or part-time students. This is where the theories get translated into practice – hopefully – but also where one begins to see those theories coming to life, to fruition, in the individual children one is working with.

There is so much doom and gloom written and spoken about the children and the young people of today. If you took your opinion of children purely from the media, from news, from articles written in magazines, online, or from the sort of chat you hear from others, the future of this planet would indeed be a depressing prospect.

I’ve found my foray into the Montessori classroom so inspiring. The children are eager to learn. They surprise you pleasantly with what they remember, with their approach to the world, with their problem-solving skills, their resilience, their sparkiness. The people that have nothing good to say about children have low expectations of them. The children I work with every day know we have high expectations of them and develop self-esteem and high expectations of their own. It can only help them become self-reliant and self-confident as they grow into fantastic members of society.

However, a few incidents recently have made me realise that the thing that makes me most proud of ‘my’ Montessori children is their humanity, their empathy and their care for others. It’s where the vertical grouping of the true Montessori classroom really comes into its own. The older children, who have become familiar with life in the Montessori school, instinctively reaching out to help the younger child who is struggling. Last week at school, one of the older boys, aged 4, said to a little 2 year old girl ‘Let me help you with that’ when he noticed she was struggling to zip up her coat. This always makes me feel emotional, and incredibly proud and I’m always keen to make a note of any similar positive incidents in the child’s learning journey.

It’s when you see these children out of the classroom and they are still showing this empathy and care for others that I really am heartened. I was at a friend’s house with my children and my five year old became upset as the string of cotton reels she had been threading slipped off on to the floor. Immediately, my friend’s little boy raced over and said ‘Don’t cry! I can pick them all up for you, it will be all right’. He picked up each cotton reel carefully, chatting to her and reassuring her all the while. He is 4. When he had gathered them all up, he said ‘Do you feel better now?’ and she said ‘Yes, thank you very much’.

Both of these children spent their pre-school years together in a Montessori pre-school. It’s heartening to think that they haven’t forgotten what they experienced there, and are still Montessori children at heart, even as they now both attend a non- Montessori primary. Hopefully, both will keep their Montessori flame alive in them for the rest of their lives.

It’s small, but significant incidents like this that I suspect I will never tire of witnessing, which buoy up my faith in children. 

This, then, is the gift Montessori keeps giving the children of generation after generation. I like to think the more children that are allowed to learn in this way, the more hopeful the future for the whole world will be.  

What heartening things have you witnessed from young children? Let us know in the comments below!

 

 

Making Links Between the Indoors and Out

This is the latest in a series of regular blogs from Barbara Isaacs, Academic Director of Montessori Centre International, Europe’s No.1 Montessori Teacher Training Organisation.

This article first appeared in http://www.teachprimary.com/teachnursery/.

During last year’s warm and gentle autumn, many settings had the opportunity to develop their outdoor activities, and also to enrich their activity tables inside. Montessori’s own idea that the “outside must come inside, and the inside be taken outside” invites practitioners to make links between the indoor and outdoor classrooms and to help children make links between the two learning environments, thus increasing their tactile awareness and supporting their need to learn though the senses.

 

Leaf collections and hunts for conkers, acorns and seeds give children opportunities to investigate the gardens or take part in expeditions to local parks and open spaces. The artefacts found can be brought back into the classroom and arranged on the activity table to facilitate the exploration of textures, colours, sizes, shapes, as well as sound and movement. Magnifying glasses and microscopes can be used further extend the children’s learning. Observations of these explorations will give practitioners opportunities to note children’s:

• Use of language, particularly when describing their explorations
• Mathematical skills, when comparing sizes, colours, shapes and textures
• Powers of observation – their ability to notice similarities and differences
• Skills of representation as they begin to use the resources in a symbolic way, for example, making the conker into a slithering snail, or a sycamore seed into a helicopter
• Ability to share the resources on the table

The observations will also serve as tools for further planning and extension of children’s learning using books, blocks and arts and craft activities within the classroom.

In winter, the outdoor resources are not as plentiful, but there is still an opportunity to use the activity table for artefacts representing the various festive seasons, for example, Hanukah, Christmas, and the Chinese New Year.           

Winter Wonders

Transport themes offer further opportunities to extend children’s learning. Sorting models of the many vehicles in use across the world, using mats representing land, water and air, can be a good start for such a project during the winter. Once again, opportunities for sensory learning are plentiful: children can sort for vehicles by size, type, and colour, or by sound in a type of a sound lotto whilst developing play scenarios.

Or how about the exploration of light? This is another useful winter theme, which can be facilitated by the activity table. Starting with a light box, children can explore shadows and shapes, leading to the mixing of colours, making of rainbows and investigation of transparent, translucent and opaque materials. Shadow puppets become useful tools for story telling and can also introduce new cultures to the children.

Another natural element which can be explored during winter is water – always a source of delight to children. Using their knowledge of floating and sinking, children can investigate the properties of ice, and even explore steam with the supervision of adults.  The changing qualities of water from liquid to solid and gas are miraculous for young children, providing rich opportunities for discussion and introduction of scientific hypotheses, and would be a natural introduction to the  water cycle and observation of weather for the older children.

 

Finally, don’t forget magnets, as they offer yet another chance to extend the resources offered to children on the activity table, and to promote their growing sensory awareness and opportunities to construct shape and forms using a variety of games.

Remember, with some consideration, opportunities for sensory exploration lie at the heart of most early years activities. Offering children artefacts on activity tables draws their attention towards them and gives practitioners the opportunity to observe and evaluate their level of knowledge and understanding of their environment and plan for further activities.

Taking it further

Retrain with the world’s largest global education movement from home…

Montessori Centre International is Europe’s largest Montessori training college. Its distance learning course offers you the flexibility and support to study when and where you want – in your own time and in your own home.        

To find out more about Montessori home learning, visit montessori.org.uk/mci_training or call 020 7493 8300.

 

 

Encouraging Autonomy by Supporting Independence

 

This is the latest in a series of regular blogs from Barbara Isaacs, Academic Director of Montessori Centre International, Europe’s No.1 Montessori Teacher Training Organisation.

This article first appeared in http://www.teachprimary.com/teachnursery/.

 

The EYFS consultation document proposes more focus on children’s personal social and emotional development, particularly in the first four years of life. It was Montessori’s aim, as early as 1907, to encourage children’s autonomy by supporting their fierce drive for independence. She made clear links between autonomy and a child’s positive self-image and self-esteem. All parents, practitioners and teachers have seen the intense pride and sense of achievement when two- and three-year-olds manage to put on their shoes, serve their own snack or manage to complete an activity successfully. These accomplishments are possible because we show children how to go about managing such tasks and give them time to become competent. The initial steps are often clumsy and inefficient, but practice makes perfect! Once they can do it for themselves, young children often offer help to their friends and those who may be struggling. Their self-esteem is enhanced further by making these social connections and promoting a sense of belonging and wellbeing within the group.

Montessori started by making sure that children established good habits of hygiene, by demonstrating how to wash themselves thoroughly and how to use the toilet independently. Even today, we need to show children how to wash and dry their hands, particularly after painting or a craft activity or gardening, as well as before and after meals or following a visit to the toilet. In such situations they may need to brush the dirt from behind their nails and ensure that their wrists are clean too. Many settings find hand-washing a challenge because they are located in church halls, with limited access to running water. However, it is possible to set up a hand-washing activity in the classroom. This will involve having two small buckets, a jug, small bowl and soap dispenser and a small nail brush, and paper towels for hand-drying.

Awash with Ideas

One bucket (with a lid) will be partly filled with warm water and will have a jug inside. Children who need to wash their hands must fill the hand-washing bowl with the jug. They will also need to learn how to access the soap from the dispenser and how to rub their hands together to make lather, and ensure that they wash their fingers carefully, checking their nails for dirt. Whilst purposeful, hand-washing gives two- and three-year-olds a great deal of pleasure, and it can be a drawn out process. When finished, children are expected to pour the used water into the second bucket and wipe out the bowl in readiness for the next person.  

Just think what skills and learning take place during this simple activity. Children will need to remember the sequence. They will improve their hand-eye coordination and estimation during the pouring activity. They will grow in their awareness of their own body whilst being reminded of the need for personal hygiene. Finally, their sense of self within the group will also increase.

You may not want to have a permanent access to hand washing as described here, as it can occasionally end up with much spillage, but you may want to try it out when doing finger painting, printing and other activities within the art area.

Another element of personal hygiene which can challenge the practitioner is children’s ability to blow their nose. Why not try having a box of tissues, a smallish wall-mounted mirror and a rubbish bin available in close proximity? A child can then be encouraged to blow their nose, check that they have managed the task properly, and dispose of the tissue in the bin provided. Young children will need to be shown how to blow their nose and be reminded about checking if they have wiped their nose properly – but once successful, they have gained  a skill for life!

This is just a beginning. Why not try to develop a routine for brushing teeth after lunch, or if you have the space, for each child having their own hair brush for use first thing or after naps?

Taking it further

Retrain with the world’s largest global education movement from home…

Montessori Centre International is Europe’s largest Montessori training college. Its distance learning course offers you the flexibility and support to study when and where you want – in your own time and in your own home.        

To find out more about Montessori home learning, visitmontessori.org.uk/mci_training or call 020 7493 8300.

 

Just the Beginning

 

Read a new blog from one of our Early Childhood Diploma students, Katie Butterworth. She is a trained teacher who is sharing her experience of taking the plunge and studying Montessori.

We hope you enjoy.

 

Well, here I am at the other end of my Montessori exams. It’s been a busy few weeks, juggling apparatus practice with revision, work, some semblance of a relationship and scattered remains of a social life! OK so it hasn’t been quite that dramatic, but it has been intense; the culmination of a year of new information and concepts for my brain to attempt to assimilate. Reaching this milestone has caused me to reflect onmy reasons for embarking on this journey in the first place...

For me it wasn’t so much for the qualification, as I’m a qualified Primary School teacher already. Having taught for a year in London when I stumbled across the Montessori Method, it wasn’t a necessary step for employment reasons. In fact having spoken to other students on the course I think there is often something deeper than the prospects of a job which attracts many to Montessori. My personal reason for undertaking the diploma took root as a small but consistent voice in my head, which kept asking if there wasn’t a better, or kinder, way to teach.

I had felt since the start of my teacher training that the theory of child development and learning, and the practice of teaching methods used in schools didn’t always seem to mesh well. We knew in practice the best way to engage students in their learning, but in reality the schools often seemed stuck, caught between wanting the best for their students, and the demands for certain attainments in SATS and assessments.

So when I discovered quite by chance some Montessori materials online, and was impressed by their clarity and success, I started to delve a bit deeper into the pedagogy. During the summer holidays I bought a few books, and the more I read the more impressed I became. I felt that this was a practical method with real basis in the theory and child development.

Having completed the course, I can tell you I have not been disappointed; far from it. My respect for the work of Dr Montessori has only increased as I have started to grasp the depth and breadth of the curriculum which she developed. As a result my understanding of child development is far greater and I feel I have a sound basis from which to develop my practice.

As for the future; well first I have the not insignificant task of completing my teaching practice, for which I anticipate needing to utilise all the knowledge and skills I have been accumulating this year, and probably developing new ones too! I have some experience of working in Reception and Nursery classes before, but I know I will be called upon to explore and reflect thoroughly upon all the avenues of daily life in a classroom. The commitment of the lecturers to ensuring that students have a thorough understanding of all aspects of the Montessori philosophy and curriculum is to be highly commended. I feel sure it has greatly enhanced my ability to benefit the children in my care.

Following this my longer term goal is to work in a reception or Key Stage 1 class, and implement as much of the Montessori philosophy and pedagogy into my practice as is possible. To quote Catherine in an earlier article, I’m just beginning. I feel that there will never be a point at which I have learnt all I can – the nature of working with children in general – but with Montessori’s legacy to guide me, I am surer than ever that I am on the right path.

 

 

Encouraging and Developing Creative Skills

 

This is the latest in a series of regular blogs from Barbara Isaacs, Academic Director of Montessori Centre International, Europe’s No.1 Montessori Teacher Training Organisation.

This article first appeared in http://www.teachprimary.com/teachnursery/.

The Montessori approach is often criticised for not allowing children opportunities to be creative, but this is a fundamental misunderstanding of how it supports children’s creativity. Montessori recognised and valued our ability to be creative; according to her it is one of the key human tendencies. Every new discovery, invention or trend in fashion, art or music needs a person or people with the initiative to explore and apply new ideas in unusual ways. As such, in Montessori settings creativity is seen as a way of thinking and is encouraged. 

To express ideas we require tools and skills that help us implement them. This is where Montessori nurseries start when introducing the creative curriculum. Young children are encouraged to develop skills by having access to high-quality materials and by being given opportunities to repeat activities. The resources need to be plentiful, accessible and appealing, and if necessary are replenished or changed daily by teachers. Such resources include:

• Paper of different qualities, sizes and colours
• Pencils, crayons, felt tips
• Glue (sticks or small pots with spatulas), right- and left-handed scissors, cellotape/masking tape
• String, ribbons, wool, glitter, sequins, pasta, beads, fabrics, paper of different textures, sticks, leaves and petals for collages
• Sponges, wood blocks or vegetables for printing
• Stencils and objects to draw around
• Threading, sewing and weaving activities
• Playdough, Fimo or clay
• Boxes of different shapes and size
• An easel which the children can use for painting or chalking, with paints and clean brushes ready for use. (Children will be shown where to put their pictures to dry once they are finished and also how to clean the easel in readiness for other children to use.)

The organisation and range of materials should encourage choice. There should be small trays which children use to contain self-selected resources, as well as any tools they may choose to use for their activity. There will also be aprons and mats to use.     

During a child’s early days at nursery, if they show interest, they will be shown gradually how to:

• Roll up their sleeves
• Put on an apron
• Find a mat
• Find somewhere to sit
• Where to find paper
• Where to find resources
• Use the glue stick
• Use scissors safely
• Thread
• Use sewing cards

Initially, they will be guided by the teacher, but as their skills develop and they begin to demonstrate competence, they will access this area of the classroom in the same way as they do other areas of learning – freely and spontaneously. As with other areas of learning, every child will be shown how to return the resources they have not used, and how to clean up their work mat and put away their apron.

Each one of a child’s creative efforts will be supported and appreciated by an adult. Children will also have the opportunity to see what their friends have done – the older, more mature children providing inspiration for the younger ones. In some settings this inspiration may also be given by having an artist or one of the teachers share various techniques and ideas with the children. Rather than formal lessons, these will usually be opportunities for children to observe and be inspired. The child’s own ideas will be scaffolded by the adult, who might suggest the use of various materials, a new technique or tips on how to improve their skills. 

Taking it further

Retrain with the world’s largest global education movement from home…

Montessori Centre International is Europe’s largest Montessori training college. Its distance learning course offers you the flexibility and support to study when and where you want – in your own time and in your own home.        

To find out more about Montessori home learning, visit montessori.org.uk/mci_training or call 020 7493 8300.

 

Montessori and Life on Earth

This is the latest in a series of regular blogs from Barbara Isaacs, Academic Director of Montessori Centre International, Europe’s No.1 Montessori Teacher Training Organisation.

This article first appeared in http://www.teachprimary.com/teachnursery/.

We hope you enjoy the piece. Please let us know your thoughts.

Barbara Isaacs looks at the varied ways in which children can be introduced to life on Earth...

Montessori wanted young children to have close contact with nature and also learn about the physical features of the world and its people. Whilst history is introduced with the help of calendars and timelines, explorations of magnets, colours and the properties of water are part of everyday life in a Montessori nursery classroom. This area of the curriculum is referred to by Montessorians as 'cultural studies', whereas the Early Years Foundation Stage aptly names it Knowledge and Understanding of the World. And this was really Montessori's aim – to give young children an opportunity to learn about all elements of life on Earth.    

We usually begin by exploring the immediate environment – the focus is on creatures found in the nursery garden or on nature walks. Many Montessori settings embrace the Forest School training as a fitting addition to this area of learning. Growing flowers and vegetables and caring for nursery pets has been part of Montessori practice since the beginning of the 20th century. In addition, children will find on the nursery shelves a range of matching and pairing activities, wherever possible using real fruits and vegetables, and also models of animals rather than pictures, enabling them to find members of the individual families and group mother and baby animals etc. Children also explore flowers as they arrange them in the classroom or look after them in the garden, and match leaves with pictures of the plants to which they belong.   

Crossing continents

When looking at geography, Montessori children usually begin by exploring the solar system and looking at the map of the world and its continents, and the people and animals who live there. Physical features such as rivers and mountains are explored, as are celebrations from different cultures. The diversity of human life is usually reflected in collections of objects representing a continent or country. As the nursery's collections grow, they're housed in baskets or chests of drawers. Typically, they include children's traditional clothes and accessories, as well as money, books, types of transport, music, models of animals found in that continent, and pictures of families in typical houses, eating typical food and celebrating festivals. When children start exploring these boxes, often as part of a planned project which can span across a whole term, they'll also cook food from that continent or country and have visitors to tell them about their life.  

With growing globalisation it's easy to find artefacts for these boxes, but it's increasingly difficult to identify the unique features of these continents without being either tokenistic or stereotypical. None-the-less, children really enjoy the continental collections, which often serve as props for dressing up and role-play.

One of the most popular activities on the shelf in this area of learning is the mapping game: essentially a 'small world' activity. It gives children the opportunity to put together a model town, village or city using two identical base-boards, which include roads, a rail line, and a hill and a lake or pond accompanied by two sets of buildings. As two children, or a child with an adult, engage with the materials, they have the opportunity to explore and describe models of the buildings, their structure and features. The participants discuss where they would like to place the buildings on their base boards. They take turns in their decision-making; therefore, one always copies the other, using his/her observational skills and attention to details as the identical placement is made. In addition to developing children's spatial awareness, the game also increases prepositional language and conversational skills, and supports cooperation. Why not try it out? 

Taking it further 

Fast track your career with a Montessori teaching qualification...

Montessori Centre International is Europe's largest Montessori training college, based in central London with regional study centres. It offers two main courses, a diploma and foundation degree. Study is available: full, part-time and distance learning.

 To find out more about Montessori teacher training, log on to montessori.org.uk or phone 020 7493 8300.

The Montessori Method III

This is the latest in a series of regular blogs from Barbara Isaacs, Academic Director of Montessori Centre International, Europe’s No.1 Montessori Teacher Training Organisation.

This article first appeared in http://www.teachprimary.com/teachnursery/.

We hope you enjoy the piece. Please let us know your thoughts.

Barbara Isaacs describes ways in which numeracy can be promoted in and outside the nursery...

Recent research identified children's ability to recognise quantity soon after birth. Montessori also acknowledged these unique qualities by speaking about the child being born with a 'mathematical mind' (Montessori, 2007). By this she meant that as children mature they develop an ability to match, pair, sort and classify information and organise it in a logical way. In Montessori nurseries children explore and learn to identify shapes; they pair sound cylinders, sort natural materials, such as shells, pebbles, conkers, according to size or texture. They also develop grading skills when using activities such as the colour tablets. They are introduced to 1:1 correspondence when matching cylinders with appropriate sockets in the cylinder block, and also explore length, weight and size through their play. 

When they're ready and show interest, children are introduced to counting with the help of number rods and sandpaper numerals. They gradually learn about both cardinal and ordinal numbers, and their relationships with the written symbol. Working first with quantities they focus on sequence as well as patterns of numbers such as odd and even. At all times children have objects to manipulate and organise to enhance their mathematical understanding.

Unique to Montessori is her approach to the decimal system. The child who knows numbers up to 10 is introduced to the names of the hierarchies within the decimal system using the bars, squares and cubes made out of the Golden Beads (pictured). With the help of these 'fixed quantities', young children are able to count up to 9,999. To enhance their understanding of the decimal system hierarchies, they have access to numeral cards, which use colour to represent the hierarchies. The cards are also designed to highlight the place value of zero. With the help of these materials children can be introduced to numerical operations such as addition or multiplication and have the opportunity to work with large numbers long before they learn to add or subtract units and tens. 

Summer sums

Mathematics activities are easy to plan and prepare outside too. For example, why not number all the nursery bikes, tricycles and scooters? The same numbers, attached to a fence, then identify 'parking' places for them, encouraging children to leave them there when they're finished. (This approach also avoids having a pile of bikes in the middle of the playground or fighting over who uses them and when.)  

The garden provides opportunities for counting by having a collection of pebbles or shells which can be counted into flower pots marked by numbers from 0–10 and organised into a number line by being attached to a wooden board. Different size buckets can be filled with sand and weighed. Old flower pots can be sorted by colour or size. Dolls' clothes can be washed and hung on a washing line, once again sorted by size, colour or garment. Sunflower seeds or daffodil bulbs are ideal for adding or subtracting, and you could measure the volume of the watering can by filling it with the help of ladles, cups, jugs or buckets. 

Finally, a collection of large packing cases will serve not only for making dens and creating large constructions, but also to see how each shape fits inside another or to compare the sides of each case to discover if it's a square or a rectangle, or even an interesting conical shape or pyramid. The opportunities for maths outdoors are endless; why not try to introduce some of them in your nursery this summer? 

Taking it further

Fast track your career with a Montessori teaching qualification...

Montessori Centre International is Europe's largest Montessori training college, based in central London with regional study centres. It offers two main courses, a diploma and foundation degree. Study is available: full, part-time and distance learning.

 To find out more about Montessori teacher training, log on to montessori.org.uk or phone 020 7493 8300.

MEAB Newsletter

To find out more about Montessori teacher training, log on to montessori.org.uk or phone 020 7493 8300.