As always in the Montessori classroom, the child proceeds from handling concrete objects to understanding abstract concepts. The child works with materials that help him understand different math concepts. Using the Red and Blue Rods, she learns one-to-one correspondence, which is then expanded through subsequent materials, including the Bead Cabinet which introduces squaring and cubing in concrete format!
Bead Cabinet: The Thousand Chain
Whew! What a BIG work. The Thousand Chain is the culmination of the Bead cabinet . . . for now. That work actually will carry the child through Lower Elementary, teaching many more mathematical concepts. But for now, the student and his classmates are learning:
- linear counting from 1 to 1000
- skip counting -- 10, 20, 30, 40, . . . 1000
- multiples of ten (one 10 = 10; two 10's = 20; three 10's = 30, etc.)
- squared numbers: ten 10's = 100 = 102
- cubed numbers: ten 100-squares = a thousand cube
All of these are concepts the student can't verbalize. But later, when he's learning that 10 squared = 100, that learning will come easily to him, and he won't even know why. THIS is why! So much of the learning in the Montessori Primary environment is concrete -- it's learning that the children can't put words to, but future learning will come more easily, more enjoyably, because of the 3-6 years.
In the many years that we've been teaching Montessori, we've been amazed at how many parents we've met who credited their children's college success to their Montessori preschool experiences . . . and this is why! Consistently, what we are told is that their children emerged from the Primary classroom with a curiosity and a love of learning, a thirst for learning, that made learning FUN for them throughout their lifetimes!
But even aside from the academic learning, just imagine how important the lesson of perserverance, of sticking with a task even when it takes two or three days to complete.