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 Math has been a part of the human being since the beginning of time. It has been a part of man’s effort in the discovery of food, clothing, and shelter. The tendency of human beings to create and invent is based on law, order and exactness. It is inherent in us and belongs to us universally, and therefore belongs to the child. Dr. Montessori believed that math should not be difficult for the child and it is the adult’s influence that presents a negative view of math. Adults convey misconceived ideas that math is difficult and mysterious, something that only gifted children should attempt, and children should not be presented with it too early. Dr. Montessori believed that all human beings has the capability for a mathematical mind, so none of these notions are true. She maintained that that the process for the acquisition for language is more complicated, than that required for math, and yet one expects a child to use language effortlessly. The reason that the child does so with relative ease is that he is given a greater exposure to it from the moment he is born. In a Montessori environment, the child is given exposure to all aspects of math starting from the primary children’s house.
In the elementary class, math starts with the story of numbers which outlines where our decimal systems and numbers started. After the presentation of the concept of the Million (The child arrives in elementary class with the concept of numbers to Thousand in place) the presentation of math proceeds as follows:
Multiplication
Long Division
Squaring and cubing with the materials
Fractions (includes the four basic operations)
Decimal Fractions
Squaring and Cubing (leading to abstraction and formula)
Square Root/Cube Root
Negative Numbers/Powers of Numbers
Non-Decimal bases
Ratio and Proportion
Word Problems
Distance, Velocity and Time
Principal, Interest, Rate and Time
Measurement
Introduction To Algebra
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