Introduction to Mathematics

Introduction to Mathematics

Introduction
I’d like to tell you a story today – the story of my day. This morning my alarm sounded at 6:15 am; I
promptly hit the snooze button, which allowed the passage of another ten minutes before the
alarm sounded again. When I got up, I turned up the thermostat so that the temperature inside the
house increased from 55 degrees to 65 degrees.

I went to the kitchen to start the coffee. I poured 12 cups of water into the machine, but only 10
cups of coffee actually appeared in the decanter. I idly wondered where the rest of the water had
gone …

The coffee started, I went outside to get the paper and noticed how cold it was outside. Must be
below freezing, I thought, and today feels even colder than yesterday.

At breakfast, we had bacon. Evan, the self-proclaimed bacon monitor, says we each get 2 ¼
pieces. Dave says two are enough for him, so Evan adjusts and now the rest of us get 2 1/3 pieces.

The phone rings three times before we can get to it. Gramma had entered the series of numbers
that connects her phone to ours – she also remembered that her time is three hours ahead of us;
while it is only 7:00 am in Portland, it is three hours later in Florida.

Evan is deciding whether he should leave now and catch the 7:58 bus, or if he should wait and take
the 8:10 bus. He takes the 70 bus and likes to wait for a friend who takes the 14 and meets him at
the bus stop on 11th Ave.

I get in my car to drive to work, and do a quick check of the dashboard. I shift from first to second
gear when the RPMs are around 3, which is actually multiplied by 1000 to determine how many
revolutions per minute. I don’t care too much about that, however, I just want to keep my speed at
25 miles per hour. I am momentarily distracted when a light comes on and reminds me that I only
have 3 gallons of gas left in my tank. I estimate I have enough time to stop at the gas station
without being late to work.

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 Introduction to Mathematics

I check the calendar, and note the day, the week, and the month, and am reminded that Julian is
rehearsing with his accompanist this afternoon. The last time they practiced, she asked him to
work on the second section with a metronome so that he could accurately subdivide the quarter
notes so that exactly four 16th notes fit into one beat. Before they even begin the rehearsal, she
will play an A on the piano, and he will play his A- he will adjust the tension on his violin string so it
vibrates at exactly A 440Hz.

After the rehearsal, which lasts about an hour, I will write her a check for $45. When she cashes
the check, that amount of money will be deducted from my checking account.1

*****

Our lives are flooded with numbers. Just think of all of ways we use numbers in the brief example I
just illustrated: time, temperature, estimation, fractions, subtraction, addition, multiplication,
division, measurement, frequency waves, volume, money, phone numbers, bus lines, street names,
music notation, and monitoring the performance of our automobiles.

Even the words I used reflect mathematical concepts: promptly, increased, more, later, enough,
ahead, now, figure, deduct, and amount. Mathematics is a part of our human culture; we use
mathematical concepts every day to describe and represent our world. It is essential for children
to understand the mathematical concepts behind these words and numbers if they are to become
fully adapted to the culture we live in today.

Mathematics and Cultural Adaptation

Mathematics is part of our human heritage, organically growing out of normal development. In its
broadest form, mathematics is about patterns. Our human brains are designed to recognize and
understand patterns, and our ability to manipulate patterns and communicate about them is a
product of humanity, perhaps more important today than ever before. We are born with an innate
number sense. We possess a mind that is mathematical in nature, and we have inherited a broad
potential to fully develop mathematics. However, our mathematical success, attitudes, and
ultimately, our mathematical abilities are shaped by the experiences in our environment.

1
Brian Butterworth inspired this everyday account of how we “use numbers every waking hour of every day,” as he
read mathematical references in the morning paper in the preface of his book, What Counts – How Every Brain is
Hardwired for Math.
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 Introduction to Mathematics

As we explore the acquisition of mathematical ability, you will find many interesting parallels to the
acquisition of language. We will use these parallels to demystify the development of math and
bring us to the realization that mathematical ability is a natural human development and as such, is
perfectly suited for the child in the first plane.

You will see why and how we offer mathematics in the Casa, taking advantage of the sensitive
periods, the human tendencies, and the first plane child’s inherent capacity to love all that is in her
environment. Every child has the potential to embrace mathematics with confidence, ease, and
delight, because it is a natural part of her cultural heritage.

Stanislas Dehaene, a mathematician and cognitive neuropsychologist writes,, “I am certain that

children of equal initial abilities may become excellent or hopeless at mathematics
depending on their love or hatred of the subject. Passion breeds talent – and parents and
teachers therefore have a considerable responsibility in developing their children’s positive
or negative feelings towards mathematics.” (Dehaene, The Number Sense, How the Brain
Creates Mathematics, p. 9)

As Montessori educators, we recognize the potential for mathematical development in the lives of
young children. Like every other aspect of child development, we can either support, or thwart it.
Ultimately, every experience the child has with mathematics becomes a part of the biological
makeup of the child’s brain. The neural connections and chemical transmissions within the child’s
brain reflect the child’s level of interest and emotional involvement (Dehaene, 1997, p.8). Through
our Montessori math presentations we support child development by aligning cognitive growth
with our educational practice. In this way, we create the best possible experience with
mathematics.

What is Mathematics?
As we’ve said, math is about patterns. Math is the science, or study, of patterns, and patterns are
in every aspect of life- physical, biological, and sociological. There are patterns in the movements
of the sun and moon, the tides, and the winds. There are patterns in the growth of plants, the
design of a spider’s web, and in the migrations of birds and butterflies. There are patterns in the
complex relationships of people, patterns in our speech, and patterns in our behaviors.

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 Introduction to Mathematics

The types of patterns we study create the different branches of mathematics. For example,
arithmetic is the study of the patterns in counting and quantity. Algebra uses symbolic notation
to describe the generalized patterns in arithmetic. Geometry studies patterns of shape. Calculus
and physics study the patterns of motion, change, and space; probability studies patterns of
chance, and logic studies patterns of reasoning.

As our lives and technological innovation become more complex, so does mathematical thinking.
Around the turn of the century, in the 1900s, mathematics consisted of only about twelve
subjects: arithmetic, geometry, algebra, calculus, and so on. But today there are between 60 and
70 different categories of mathematics. There has been an “explosion in knowledge” in the past
century, as known branches of mathematics split up into subfields and entirely new theories of
mathematics arise (Devlin, 2000).

Despite the extensive branching of modern mathematics, it is by examining the roots of

mathematical understanding that we understand the importance of mathematics in the early years
of life. Mathematical ideas are not radically different than other more commonplace notions; our
brains are designed to create abstractions and manipulate them. What better example of this
ability than the power of very young children to create and use language.

Language Development
Dev elopment and Mathematics
To help us understand the nature of mathematics and why we consider it an accessible subject for
children under age six, let’s look at what we already know about children and language
development.

We defined language as “a socially

social ly shared code or conventional system for representing
concepts with arbitrary symbols and the rules governing the combinations of those
symbols.”2 Following this definition, isn’t mathematics also a socially shared code or system that
represents concepts with arbitrary symbols? Doesn’t mathematics also involve the rules
governing the combinations of those symbols? It would seem that math and language are two
expressions of the same basic process.

Like language, mathematics requires concrete sensorial experiences, creating abstractions based
on those experiences, and understanding the structures and rules to using them. Let’s summarize

2
This definition of language (Owens, 1992) is used in my Introduction to Language lecture.
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 Introduction to Mathematics

what we know about language development. By the age of three or four, children are generally
fluent in their native language, and many children are fluent in more than one language. They
begin with non-verbal communication, explore with the basic sounds in their environment, and
begin to combine those sounds into words. In acquiring vocabulary, children attach verbal symbols
(words) to abstractions formed from concrete experiences in their environment. Single words
become two word phrases, and before long, children have mastered the phrase structure of
language and can apply rules governing the structure. They manipulate abstractions by plugging in
specific words into the structures to convey intended meaning. They internalize the patterns of
behavior and meaning that add nuance and inflection to their words.

We know that children have an innate capacity to acquire language. We agree every child has the
potential to create abstractions and apply the patterns, structures, and sequence of the language
that surrounds her. This sounds very complex, and indeed it is, but no one thinks language learning
is too abstract for young children. We expect it, and we support it, because we know that
language development is dependent upon the language used in the child’s environment.

However, as Mario Montessori wondered, “If, because of the abstract nature of language,
succeeded
people succeed ed in protecting the child’s mind from it until he was ten years of age, I
wonder what kind of language the child would speak and whether he would not find language
as distasteful a subject as the majority of children seem to find mathematics.” (Mario
Montessori, (1961) “Maria Montessori’s Contribution to the Cultivation of the Mathematical Mind,”
NAMTA Journal, Vol.19, No.1, Winter, 1994)

The cognitive ability that evolved in the human brain making language possible is also the
ability necessary for mathematical
mathe matical thinking.
thinking This ability is pattern recognition. Our brains have
developed to recognize patterns. We recognize visual patterns, linguist patterns, social patterns,
and many others. “Mathematical thinking, as practiced today, makes use of mental capa
capacities
cities
that were developed hundreds of thousands, and in some cases, millions of years ago. Doing
mathematics does not require new mental abilities, but rather a novel use of some existing
abilities.” (Keith Devlin, The Math Gene, p.180) 3

The brain’s existing ability to recognize patterns and react accordingly is what underlies our ability
to develop and use language, and also to develop and use mathematics. It is our “mathematical
mind” at work, constructing itself out of the patterns in our environment. It is the mathematical

3
Further exploration of this topic found in Chapters 6 and 7: “Born to Speak,” and “The Brain That Grew and
Learned to Talk” in Devlin’s book The Math Gene.
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 Introduction to Mathematics

mind that made it possible for both language and mathematics to develop from an evolutionary
standpoint, and it is the mathematical mind that enables the individual child to develop language
and mathematics.

Just as we recognize a specific universal pattern to how children develop language, there is also a
universal pattern to how children develop mathematics. Understanding the basic history of how
our human species developed mathematics is important to our work with young children, because
within each individual child we can see a recapitulation of the developmental process of our entire
human species. Recognizing this developmental process clarifies the natural sequence of concepts
that bring a child to mathematical comprehension.

A Brief History of Mathematics

View an entertaining and useful short film on the history of mathematics at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy-8lPVKLIo

“Ontogeny Recapitulates Phylogeny,”4 or, “The Development of Mathematics”

Our history indicates that when human beings first began to use language, they used only words
for 1, 2 and possibly 3. This may be because “oneness, twoness, and threeness are perceptual
qualities that our brain computes
computes effortlessly, without counting” (Dehaene, 1997, p. 92).
Numerous studies show that newborns only a few days old can detect a difference between two
and three objects. This ability to recognize quantities of small numbers is called “subitizing.” These
various studies, replicated in different countries and with different controls, show that regardless
of variables in any physical parameters- shape, color, size, and even moving displays – babies
appear to notice the constancy of objects and extract their numerosity. (Dehaene, 1997, p. 50).

Additional studies have also shown how babies can intuitively add and subtract small numbers. This
is not a conscious act but a perception and expectation. The babies indicated that when they were
shown one object plus another object, they expected to see two objects (Dehaene, 1997, p.54;
Butterworth, 1999, p.107). This ability is also found in animals, indicating that basic number sense
or perception has an evolutionary place deep within animal and human brains.

4
E.H. Haeckel (1834-1919), a German biologist and philosopher, theorizes that the embryological development of
the individual repeats the stages in the evolutionary development of the species.
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 Introduction to Mathematics

In addition to this innate number sense, early mathematical ability also includes neural connections
formed through sensory experiences with spatial relations, vertical orientation, cause and effect,
gravity, physical force and coordinated movement. Our human ancestors must have had daily
experience with these concepts as they built shelters that would withstand the elements,
experimented with more effective ways to hunt animals and gather food, and cared for their basic
needs – all without a formalized system of numbers. We see this exploration and growth in the
baby who is reaching out to grasp an object, dropping a toy repeatedly on the floor, learning to
walk upright, and attempting to climb up the stairs.

The next basic mathematical development is one-

one- to-
to- one correspondence.
correspondence Some of our oldest
records of this are the calendar type markings found in the caves of Lascaux, France dating back to
around 18,000 BC. These drawings show similar markings for each day and then a specialized
marking- possibly indicating a phase of the moon. Historians have theorized that similar markings
might be tracking the movements of the moon, seasonal changes, or reproductive cycles. We see
this same type of one-to-one correspondence in very young children as well – one sock goes on
one foot, one arm goes in one sleeve, or when a two year old sets the table and puts out one fork
for mama, one for daddy, and one for bubby.

Even though this same child may be able to count by rote- “one, two, three,” he cannot count out a
group of three forks - that is an abstract connection he has not yet made. The child setting the table
is only setting out a collection of “ones”- one fork here, one fork here, one fork here- one, one, one,
much like the individual tally marks that our ancestors made to mark the passing of one day.

The idea of one-to-one correspondence symbolized by tally marks gradually evolved to the use of
everyday objects such as clay markers, shells, or beads to represent quantities.
quantities The Sumerians
filled spheres of clay with marbles to represent the objects they counted, the Incas tied knots on
strings, and the Romans used vertical lines or bars for their first three digits. Interestingly enough,
the word “calculate” comes from the Latin word for “pebble” reflecting the time when numbers
were calculated by moving pebbles on an abacus (Dehaene, 1997, p. 97).

It was the limitations of one-to-one markings that led to the use of symbols representing groups
of objects. This reflects a level of symbolic thinking that led to our current understanding of a
number word that represents a group of objects as well as an individual quantity.
quantity Now we see
the little child who knows that there are four people eating dinner and so can count out four forks
from the silverware drawer and bring them to the table. He understands that the symbolic word

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 Introduction to Mathematics

“four” means a collection of four objects, and that four is more than three. The concept of
associating a physical quantity with a symbol and the corresponding number word is the
foundation for all mathematical understanding.

The next historic and developmental milestone comes from the concept of zero.
zero Connecting the
concept of zero to the numerical symbols brings us to the place-
place -value system.
system There is evidence
that the Babylonians, Chinese, Mayan, and Indian civilizations all developed the use of zero as a
placeholder, but the idea of zero as a “null quantity” probably came later. With the use of place
value, the manipulation of quantities, what we call “arithmetic,” became much easier. With zero as
a placeholder, we don’t need to count each object to find a quantity; we can manipulate numeric
symbols whose value depends on the place they occupy. It is much more efficient for the human
brain to recognize a symbol and associate it with a quantity than it is to count a collection of
objects.

Once the child understands our system of place value, the number 4 can represent four ones, 40,
400, 4000, and so on, making manipulation of larger quantities quite manageable. Now the child
can approach the patterns of manipulating quantity that we call arithmetic: addition,
subtraction, multiplication, and division. This understanding opens the gateway to other patterns
of numbers: those less than one, as in fractions or decimals; generalizing the patterns by
representing them in variables, as in algebra; and connection the patterns of shape with number
and letter as we see in geometry.

Within the individual child we see a reflection of the history of the development of mathematics.
An innate, unconscious number sense underlies sensory experiences in the environment, leading to
the formation of abstractions. An understanding of one-to-one correspondence evolves to an
understanding of quantity as a group or set of objects, then the association of verbal and
numerical symbols that represent quantities. From there, the child develops an understanding of
the power of zero and how place value affects quantity. Finally, she discovers the patterns of how
those quantities can be manipulated in the form of arithmetic.

This mathematical foundation becomes the engine that drives all later exploration. The child
constructs his own toolbox of mathematical understanding that can be used to create any number
of imagined constructions.

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 Introduction to Mathematics

How is Mathematics Presented in the Casa?

The obvious question at this point is, “If mathematics is such a natural, organic process in human
beings, why do so many people find mathematics so difficult or unappealing?” The answer cannot
be that math is too abstract, or unnatural, or only for special, gifted individuals, because all humans
are born with an innate numerosity, a mathematical mind uniquely capable of recognizing patterns,
and an ability to create and use abstractions as evidenced by universal language development.

I think the answer is found in how mathematics is offered. We know that children learn from
concrete experiences in their environment. Children create abstractions from these concrete
sensorial experiences, and then attach language to those experiences to fix the abstractions.
Experience precedes language. Once the experiences have been labeled with language, the
abstractions can be manipulated purely in the mind.

However, when people generally introduce math to children, they begin with the abstraction,
rather than the concrete experience. They start with the numerals, showing the symbol and
naming it- “this is one, this is two…” and so on. Sometimes they might show two apples, another
time “two” is on the calendar, still another time, “two” is how old someone is. This is often
confusing for the child, and creates an unconscious barrier to numbers that manifests in resistance
or lack of interest. (Mario Montessori, London lecture #25) This approach to learning
mathematics could be compared to expecting
e xpecting a child to learn to talk by teaching her the
alphabet.

Therefore, an effective approach to mathematics would be to offer a concrete sensorial

experience of the concept, and give time for experimental interaction so each individual child can
form her own abstractions. “In the growth of symbolic/abstract reasoning, the concrete
building block is the foundation. Seeing and touching come first (three real cookies) then
things
understanding that things (pictures, words, or numerals) can stand for other thin gs (a “3” for
the idea of three cookies). Only after these stages are mastered through many individual
experiences and the accompanying brain maturation occurs can children start to move to
abstract thought.” (Jane Healy, Your Child’s Growing Mind, p. 332, 1987)

This is, in fact, exactly what Montessori offers in the mathematics area of the Casa. Montessori
understood “that the teaching of arithmetic should be completely transformed. It should
start with sense perceptions and be based on a knowledge ofof concrete objects.” (Montessori,
The Discovery of the Child, “Further Developments in Arithmetic,” Chapter 19, p. 278, Ballantine)

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 Introduction to Mathematics

When children or adults have resistance or barriers to mathematics, it is not a question of not
having mathematical ability, but of not having made an abstraction. An abstraction cannot be
taught unless an experience is already there. The child has to create a body of unconscious
experiences with mathematics before she can construct an abstraction. (Mario Montessori,
London lecture #25) This is the role of indirect preparation for mathematics.

Indirect Preparation for Mathematics in Practical Life, Sensorial, and Language

The child’s mind is prepared for mathematics so that when she is presented with the first activities
in the math area, she will understand and be keenly interested. The mind must have a level of
preparation in order to understand. Montessori uses the example that if I spoke to you in Spanish,
you would not be able to comprehend what I was saying, no matter how many times I repeated it.
Your mind would not be prepared to listen to Spanish. However, if you learned a few words of
Spanish, as you listened to me explain something, your ears would perk up at the words you
understood. You would have enough to pique your curiosity and instead of the words being
incomprehensible, you’d want to learn more.
Another way to think of this mental preparation is that if one person came up to you and told you
some new information, you might not understand or remember it. If a second person told you the
same information, the ideas would be a bit more familiar and stay with you a while longer. By the
time a third person came to tell you, you would already have a good idea of what he was going to
say, and are fully prepared to hear the full story. This is how the mind organizes the intelligence
based upon experience; one experience relates to another, forming a subconscious framework of
intelligence.5

Practical Life
Some of the most important concrete preparations for mathematics happen before the child even
approaches the math shelf in the classroom. Within the activities of practical life are essential first-
hand experiences with cause and effect, logical sequence, spatial relations, vertical orientation,
gravity, physical force, and coordinated movement. Every time a child gauges the amount of
water needed to fill a pitcher she experiences volume. When she exerts just the right amount of
pressure to rub a shine to a brass object, it is a lesson in physics. When she lays out the objects of
an activity in the order of use, she explores logical sequence. As she endeavors to walk across the
room carrying a heavy pitcher of water without spilling, she is gaining experience and mastery in
spatial relationships and moving her body through space.

5
These two examples are found in Creative Development 2, Chapter 2.
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 Introduction to Mathematics

Mathematics is supported in the daily life of the classroom as children help prepare just enough
snack for everyone, when they practice the social patterns of behavior in the lessons of grace and
courtesy, when they set the tables for the children who eat lunch at school, when they move to
the rhythm of the music with activities on the line, and when they measure one scoop of food for
the guinea pig. The children are surrounded every day with opportunities for concrete
experiences that support mathematical thinking.

Life itself provides feedback in terms of these experiences. The materials and activities help the
child assess her own abilities. If too much water is poured, it spills out. If she moves too quickly or
misjudges the amount of space, she bumps into something. If she puts the soap on a dry table,
working out of sequence, suds won’t form. This feedback comes in a neutral, nonjudgmental way,
and the child has the opportunity to adjust or make changes herself in order to be more
successful.

Sensorial
While working with the sensorial materials, children refine the sensory perceptions necessary to
discriminate fine differences between objects. They have multiple opportunities to practice
matching, finding the one-to-one correspondence between two objects. They make sets of
objects sharing the same characteristics, and discover that some objects are members of more
than one set. The children discover the relationships between a series of objects as they grade
them by increasing or decreasing intensity or size. The activity of grading, “showing
understanding that a block, or number, can be bigger than one neighbor and smaller than the
other – all at the same time… is prerequisite to a true understanding of counting.” (Jane
Healy, Your Child’s Growing Mind, p. 325, 1987)

All the while, children are classifying and categorizing the information taken in through their
senses, and creating neural connections for logical, orderly thinking. The self-correcting nature of
the activities invites concentration and repetition, leading to increasing levels of self-perfection
and understanding. The sensorial materials isolate individual qualities, and are designed and
presented with exactness and precision, so the abstractions that the children form are clear and
accurate. The language we give to name those abstractions gives the children the opportunity to
manipulate their abstractions solely in the mind.

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 Introduction to Mathematics

In order to be successful in mathematics, it is necessary for children to develop two basic abilities
that are fundamental to arithmetic, algebra, geometry, statistics, trigonometry and calculus.
1) First, and most important, is the ability to comprehend relationships.
relationships Called “spatial-
“spatial -
temporal thinking,” it is the ability to mentally manipulate relationships in time and
space.

2) The second is the ability to follow rules, observe accurately, and follow an orderly line
in problem solving.
solving This relates to an orderly mind and keen observational skills.
skills
(Healy, Chapter 11, 1987)

The hands-on experiences in practical life and sensorial support both of these key abilities:
comprehending relationships, and developing an orderly line of thinking However, the child’s
continued exploration of spoken language also provides important indirect preparation for
mathematics. Spoken language involves the communication of ideas and information by using
verbal symbols (words).

Spoken Language
But there is something else important about language. Language includes particular words whose
purpose aids the manipulation of abstractions. Words like, unless, because, if, then, and, or, and
every change the meaning of the utterance; they are used to manipulate the abstraction, adding
syntax, or grammatical structure. Using these words changes simple vocabulary into more
complex expressions. For example, I could ask, “Do you want a cookie?” This is a very simple
expression- it could even be reduced to “Cookie?” Or, I could ask, “Do you want a cookie?
Because, if you do, then we’ll have to bake some, unless
Because unless your brother didn’t eat every one, or,
or we
made more than I thought.”

When little children move from simple vocabulary to more complex sentence structure, they are
doing more than just expressing themselves; they are actually changing the language system into
something very different. The simple words can be used in very different circumstances, for very
different purposes. (Devlin, The Math Gene, p.148)

Think about how this relates to the process of applying operational symbols (structure) to
numerals (vocabulary): 4+5 is very different than 4x5; 4/5 is very different than either 4 or 5.
This is like the children moving from simple vocabulary to more complex sentence structure. Ex:
“Cookie?” becomes, Cookie and milk? Cookie or milk? Cookie before milk? Cookie after milk?

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 Introduction to Mathematics

Here is another example. Think about this sentence: “Whoever did this, must be in a hurry.” Here,
the pronoun structure is the same basic structure as the algebraic formula “If x+2=7, then x=5”.
Whoever (x,) did this (+2=7) must be in a hurry (then x=5). The same basic structural
understanding can apply to linguistic and mathematical thinking. 6

You can see how understanding the patterns or structures of spoken language can provide a
prerequisite for understanding the patterns and structures of mathematics. With this preparation
in place, the child need only form the “new abstractions” of quantity, learn the “new vocabulary”
of the numerals, and then sit back and enjoy discovering how these concepts can be manipulated.
“Mathematical material in particular, presented in the sensitive period in suitable fashion,
permits the child to understand fundamental truths, and not only that, but to discover new
relationships.” “It is then that the [child’s mind] can give surprising revelations.
revelations. The child
becomes indefatigable in work, provided we offer the necessary means.” (Montessori, “The
Psychology of Mathematics,” an address given to the Cambridge Education Society at Trinity
College on October 16, 1935, reprinted in AMI Communications, 1971)

The Organization of the Montessori Math Materials

The materials in the math area of the Casa are organized into six groups:
• The Numbers One to Ten
• Continuation of Counting
• The Decimal System
• The Memorization Exercises
• The Passage to Abstraction
• Fractions

These groups of activities can be thought of as many limbs of a tree, all branching out from a
strong, sturdy trunk, which is the understanding of the numbers one to ten. The continuation of
counting, the activities with the decimal system, and the memorization exercises have many
parallels, and then these lines converge again with the passage to abstraction, followed by the
fractions.

6
This example comes from John Allen Paulos’s review of the book, Where Mathematics Comes From, written by
George Lakoff and Rafael Nunez.
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 Introduction to Mathematics

There is also a general pattern of activity to each of the six areas:

• Quantity in isolation
• Symbol in isolation
• Association of quantity and symbol
• Repetition, with variations
• The “test”

First, the quantity is introduced with concrete sensorial materials. When the child shows
understanding of the concept of quantity, we present the numeric symbols representing those
quantities. When the child understands the symbols, there are activities and games for associating
the quantity and symbol together. Next there is repetition with variety or extensions, and finally,
there is a “test”- an activity or game designed to see if the child has generalized the concept.

There are several general principles applied to the presentation of math materials.
• All new concepts are introduced with concrete, sensorial materials
materials.
• Only one new concept introduced at a time.
time
• T hree period lessons are used to teach new vocabulary.
• We present the whole of an idea or area first, and then examine the parts in more
detail.
• Each concept builds on ideas previously learned,
learned gradually adding more and more
detail or information.
• The emphasis is on exploration and discovery.
discovery
• Each child is given whatever time needed to make her own discoveries and build her
own abstractions.

At every step of the way, games, mini-challenges, designs, and patterns insure that math is fun,
relevant, and accessible.. “Children are only too pleased to learn mathematics if only one
shows them the playful aspects before the abstract symbolism.” (Dehaene, p.143, 1987)

Montessori understood the importance of the early work with mathematics when she wrote, “The
“The
seed of mathematics must be very, very carefully sown. We must not confuse the trunk of
the tree with the branches. We must certainly not expect good branches to grow on a dead
tree. Many people reduce mathematics to certain feats of memory. If we m make
ake the child
learn that three and three make six, or two times four make eight, we are constructing a
tree, by nailing small dead pieces of wood to a larger piece of dead wood so that it resembles
the trunk of a tree with branches attached. In doing so, we have only created an illusion. It
is no tree, only a cross. It will bear no fruit. It will give no life or joy, only suffering. Instead
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if we plant the seed carefully, we can watch the little plant take firm root, sprout leaves, and
branches
grow strong bran ches with pleasure.” (Montessori, Creative Development of the Child, Vol.2, p.
23)

The Numbers One to Ten

Although children between the ages of 3-4 (and sometimes younger) know how to count, they
often do not know why to count. Adults know that the purpose of counting is to determine the
number of items in a set, and that the final number counted is the one that matters- it is the
cardinal number of the set. Young children, although they have mastered the mechanics of
counting, do not seem to understand that the reason for counting is to find out how many are in
the group.

This is why we do not present the number rods to three year olds, but wait until age 4, or even a
little later. Around age 4, the basic internal number sense converges with the oral language
of rote counting, bringing meaning to counting. At first, he may be surprised to find that the
last number he counted tells “how many,” but after several repetitions, he will be able to
consistently infer that counting will tell him how many. (Dehaene, 1997) (Montessori, Discovery of
the Child, “Teaching How to Count and an Introduction to Arithmetic” pp.263-264, Ballantine,
1967)

To assist the development of “how many,” we begin with the number rods. The number rods
correspond to the proportions of the red rods, which the child has explored in the sensorial area.
But whereas the child estimated length with the red rods, he can count and calculate exactly with
the number rods. The unit of measure in the red rods becomes the actual unit of quantity in the
number rods. In this way, we help the child build the abstraction of quantity onto his abstraction
of length.

The number rods begin by counting the sections of each rod, and saying “how many.” We offer
lots of practice and games with counting and naming the different quantities of 1 to 10. Only after
the child is comfortable with the purpose of counting- to name the quantities, do we introduce the
numerical symbol for each quantity.

The symbols are introduced as sandpaper numerals, with three period lessons in the same manner
as the sandpaper letters. When the child is able to consistently identify the numerical symbols, we
offer several activities in associating the quantity and the symbol. Other activities with the

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 Introduction to Mathematics

numbers 1-10 introduce the ideas of combining or decreasing quantities, “sets” of numbers, zero as
“the empty set,” odd and even numbers, and finally, there is a little “test,” a game that shows
whether the child can generalize the quantities and symbols 1-10 to any objects in the
environment.7

The concepts introduced with the numbers 1-10 are the foundation for all work with mathematics;
they form the trunk of the tree. Only with a secure, solid understanding of these concepts can the
child proceed onwards toward other aspects of mathematics. It is important that every child be
given all the time she needs to understand for herself the concepts contained herein.

Once the work with the numbers 1-10 are secure, the child can branch out and explore the
activities in the decimal system, the continuation of counting, and the memorization work. There
are many parallels activities in these three areas, and they should not be thought of as linear, but as
many different expressions of what can be done with the numbers 1-9 and the concept of 0.

The Decimal System

Children love large numbers. With the use of zero, we can introduce the concept of place value,
and create very large numbers for the children to explore. We introduce units, tens, hundreds, and
thousands following the general pattern of concrete quantity, then symbol, and then associating
the symbol with the quantity. The games that follow show what can be done with these large
quantities: we can put them together, we can take them away, we can put the same quantity
together many times, and we can share out a quantity equally. These games provide the concrete
experience with the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, but the
children discover the nuances themselves.

The root of the decimal system is the interplay between nine and ten. The children explore this
characteristic of a base 10 number system when they discover we can only have up to nine of any
one category before it is transformed into one of the next higher category. The children also
discover that this process can work in the other direction too- if I need more of a smaller
category, I can borrow from a larger one. The playful nature of these various games invites a great
deal of repetition. Over and over the children experience the processes of carrying, borrowing,
changing from one category to the next, and all the while developing a very solid, concrete
understanding of what is occurring during the operations of arithmetic.

7
Montessori describes the activities with the numbers 1-10 in chapter 3 of Creative Development of the Child,
Vol.2; and chapter 18 in Discovery of the Child.
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 Introduction to Mathematics

Continuation of Counting – “Teens and Tens”

Parallel to the activities with the decimal system is the exploration of consecutive numbers greater
than ten. The presentations in the continuation of counting follow the same pattern of activity the
child has experienced before- quantity, symbol, association of the two, activities inviting repetition
with variety [100 and 1000 chains], and a built in assessment, or “test” to insure understanding and
generalization of the concepts. [Note: The application of counting to the square and cube chains
of 1-9 could be considered a “test’ although less of one than the memory game with numbers or
word problems.]

With these activities, the children discover that ten and any number of units creates the group of
numbers we call the “teens,” and that any number of tens and any number of units create the next
body of quantity we call the “tens.” Following work with the teens and tens, the child is ready to
explore the counting chains, beginning with the square and cube of ten, counting to 100, and then
all the way to 1000. The patterns of counting are reinforced with the introduction of the square
and cube chains of 1-9 as well. The design and activity with the counting chains indirectly prepare
the child for multiplication, and later work with squaring and cubing numbers.

The Memory Work

Another avenue of exploration that takes place with the numbers 1-10 involves the essential
combinations that we commit to memory. Montessori advised that we avoid the term
“memorization,” and instead, speak to the children about discovering
discovering that they know the basic
combinations by heart,8 because she recognized the connection between love and interest.
Committing the essential facts of every operation to memory gives us ready access to more
complex mathematical structures, much like learning the sounds of the alphabet brings us to
reading and understanding the written words of any author.

Building on the concepts of the operations previewed with the number rods, and introduced
concretely with the decimal system beads, children explore these combinations using beads and
number strips, gradually moving towards more symbolic materials until they have learned them by
heart. We take advantage of the power of the absorbent mind to learn the math facts easily and
without conscious effort, while the child is still in the first plane of development.

The memory work also follows the general pattern of activity of all math materials, focusing on
discovery, exploration, and repetition with variety. It is the child herself who discovers with

8
Montessori, in the pamphlet “The Decimal System,” published by AMI.
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 Introduction to Mathematics

surprise and pleasure that she already knows that 7+3=10, and guess what? 2+8=10, and 5+5=10
too! These discoveries belong to the child; the Montessori materials and presentation simply
provide her with the means to make those discoveries.

Passage to Abstraction
Abstraction
After the parallel activities of the decimal system, the continuation of counting, and the
memorization work, all of the abilities and concepts explored and mastered in terms of place value,
the operations, and the essential combinations of math facts converge with the group of activities
we call the “Passage to Abstraction.” It is here, as the child works with the most symbolic
materials, that she realizes she can find the answers quicker in her head than by manipulating the
materials. During this passage to abstraction, the child begins the mental transition from the first
plane where she manipulated concrete objects to the second plane, where she manipulates
abstractions.

Fractions
The final group of activities gives the child a taste of all that is available to her in the further
exploration of mathematics. The work with fractions shows the child that she can apply the
abilities and concepts she has mastered to another branch of numbers: those smaller than one
unit. Although the principles are much the same as with whole numbers, conceptually, this
requires more brain maturation and for this reason, is presented to the child after all of the other
mathematics work in the Casa.

The Developmental Purposes of Mathematics

By this point, I hope you consider mathematics a natural development in human beings and an
integral part of the child’s cultural adaptation. But why offer mathematics to children under the
age of six? We include mathematics in our work with young children because mathematical
exploration supports child development.

Remember, Dr. Montessori did not set out trying to teach the children mathematics; her interest
was in the child himself. She was trying to discover the process of natural child development, and
the various activities of the Casa evolved as vehicles for developing particular natural processes.

With her realization that every human being possesses a mathematical mind came the conclusion
that we could support the development of the child’s mind and integration of personality by

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 Introduction to Mathematics

supporting the mathematical mind. It is a mind that constructs itself from organizing and ordering
the patterns it finds in every aspect of life.

Through the activities in mathematics, the mind and the hand are working together to construct
the intelligence. The materials themselves are a physical representation of mathematical thinking.
They appeal to the senses and they involve manipulation by the hands in order to extract the
essence of the mathematical concept being presented. The mind creates the abstraction from the
experience of the hands. The math materials are also presented in relation to each other, and in
the context of the environment.9 Montessori identified an essential principle in education when
she wrote, “to teach details
details is to bring confusion; to establish the relationship between things
is to bring knowledge.” (Montessori, From Childhood to Adolescence, p. 58, Clio)

Mathematical exploration is a vehicle for the human tendencies to operate. When we see
evidence of the human tendencies, we know that the intelligence is engaged, the mind is working,
and the individual is satisfied. This is as true for you today as it is for children under the age of six.
Think about what we have been examining during the course of this lecture, and the human
tendencies: order… exploration… communication… work/activity… exactness… self-perfection…
abstraction… imagination… The human tendencies are urges, or drives, that remain with us
throughout our lives. As connected as the human tendencies are with the mathematical mind, we
cannot serve the child’s development if we do not understand and nurture the development of the
mind and support the human tendencies.

Each of the sensitive periods also has a role in the development of the mathematical mind and in
creating indirect preparation for mathematical thinking. The child under age six is driven by the
sensitive periods for order, movement, refinement of sensory perceptions, and language to seek
out that in her environment that will support her development.

The child under age six is in the process of creating the adult he will become. This is the time of
the conscious absorbent mind, and he will take from the environment all that his culture has to
offer. If mathematics are a part of this environment, then the child will accept and love
mathematics in the same manner as he accepts and loves the music, food, climate, attitudes, and
people of his culture. Mathematics will become a part of him, because cultural adaptation is a
process of becoming and belonging, from both a spiritual and a biological perspective.

9
For development of these ideas, read Kay Baker’s excellent article, “The Mathematical Intelligence Seen Through
the Lens of the Montessori Theory of the Human Tendencies,” NAMTA, Spring 1996.
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Conclusion
I plan to leave Montessori Northwest at 4:30 today. On the way home, I’ll stop at the store and
pick up a nice three-pound chicken for dinner- they usually cost 2.99/pound, so I’ll pay about $9
for our dinner tonight.

Evan has basketball practice from 5:00 – 7:00. He has outgrown his shoes, size 8, and will soon
need a new pair in the next higher size. Hopefully, we can find a pair for less than $50! There are
11 children on his basketball team, so there are enough for two teams of 5, with one person always
rotating out. When they play scrimmages, each player matches up with one player on the other
team, and both teams attempt to score 2 points by making a basket. Each player gets 5 fouls, and
if a foul is committed, the other team gets the opportunity to score one or two points, depending
on the situation.

While Evan is at practice, I’ll start dinner. I’ll roast the chicken at 350 degrees for about an hour
and a half – give or take 15 minutes. I think a little rice pilaf will be nice, so I measure one cup of
rice and about two cups of broth- it will take about ½ an hour to cook.

While I’m preparing dinner, perhaps I’ll put on a little music. I think I’ll listen to the first movement
of Brahm’s double concerto for violin and cello, opus 102. I’ll muse on the fact that an opus is
numbered work, and wonder how many pieces of music Brahms wrote in his life. He was born in
1833 and died in 1897, so that means he lived for 64 years…

Once again, we see how mathematics permeates the fiber of our daily lives. Time, weight,
temperature, size, measurement, scoring, ratio and proportion, life and death… there is no
question that our lives are filled with mathematics. The child’s life too, begins and ends with
mathematics. At birth, we see an infant, in possession of a mathematical mind, who grows and
develops into a human being capable of creating and imagining that which has never existed
before.

Montessori said in the Absorbent Mind, “If we study the works of all who have left their marks
on the world in the form of inventions useful to mankind, we see that the starting point was
always something orderly and exact in their minds, and that this was what enabled them to
create something new. Even in the imaginative worlds of poetry and music, there is a basic
order so exact as to be called “metrical” or measured.” (Montessori, The Absorbent Mind,
p.185, Kalakshetra)

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absorb
Later in that chapter, “he does not at first ab sorb the actual mental riches of his [culture] but
only the patterns which result from them. He absorbs… the basic or summarized part, which
is repeated in the habitual life of the people. He absorbs, in short, the mathematical part.
have
Once the patterns h ave become established within him, they remain as fixed characters…
Later on, a man may develop himself indefinitely, but it will always be his foundation.”
(Montessori, The Absorbent Mind, p.189, Kalakshetra)

Montessori too was amazed at what the children were able to accomplish in mathematics. She tells
us, “But what was really wonderful, was to see the great spiritual happiness of the children,
their amazing enthusiasm, their persistence with self-
self-imposed, difficult problems, and their
whenever
great joy whenev er they arrived at the solution, that was often reached through channels
unheard of by the teacher herself.” (Montessori, “Psychogeometry and Psychoarithmetic,” AMI
Communications, no.1/2, 1982)

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References
Montessori, Dr. Maria, (1935). The psychology of mathematics. AMI Communications,
no. 3, 1971.
Montessori, Dr. Maria, (mid-30s). Psychogeometry and psychoarithmetic. AMI
Communications, no.1/2, 1982.
Montessori, Dr. Maria, (1939). Creative Development in the Child, Vol. 2, Rukmini
Ramachandran, edit. Madras, India: Kalakshetra Publications, 1998.
Montessori, Dr. Maria, (1949). The Absorbent Mind. Claude A. Claremont trans. Madras, India:
Kalakshetra Publications, 1984.
Montessori, Dr. Maria. The Decimal System, AMI pamphlet: Amsterdam, The Netherlands:
Association Montessori Internationale.
Montessori, Dr. Maria, (1967). The Discovery of the Child. M. Joseph Costello trans.
New York: Ballantine Books, (1983).
Montessori, Dr. Maria, (1948). From Childhood to Adolescence. Oxford, England: Clio
Press, 2003.
Montessori, Mario M., (1946) unpublished London lecture #25.
Montessori, Mario M., (1961). Maria Montessori’s contribution to the cultivation of the
mathematical mind. The NAMTA Journal, Vol. 19, no.1, Winter 1994.

Other Sources
Butterworth, Brian, (1999). What Counts – How Every Brain is Hardwired for Math.
New York: The Free Press, 1999.
Baker, Kay, (1996). The mathematical intelligence seen through the lens of the
Montessori theory of the human tendencies. The NAMTA Journal, Vol.21, No.2,
Spring 1996.
Dehaene, Stanislas, (1997). The Number Sense – How the Mind Creates Mathematics.
New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.
Devlin, Keith, (2000). The Math Gene – How Mathematical Thinking Evolved and Why Numbers
are Like Gossip. Great Britain: Basic Books, 2000.
Devlin, Keith, (2005). The Math Instinct. New York: Thunder Mountain Press, 2005.
Healy, Jane M. Ph.D, (1987). Your Child’s Growing Mind. New York: Broadway Books, 2004.
Columbia, Maryland.

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