Montessori has so many great traditional math works. In fact the entire mathematical curriculum is pure genius. I personally have such a complicated relationship with math that I often regret the fact that I wasn't able to learn the Montessori way. I wonder if that relationship would be different if I had the benefit of using Montessori materials in my own childhood. But, it's too late for me, so I focus on my children.
But, that doesn't mean that we need every single math material in our homes. This is especially true if you send your child to a Montessori school. This is not only expensive but it just isn't necessary. Gus will eventually go to a Montessori children's house and have a formal introduction to the Montessori math curriculum. But, for now I'm introducing a few things here at home as he shows interest.
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Recently, I made this super easy DIY. It is far from perfect but it's a really fun way to illustrate some of the same concepts as the traditional red and blue number rods. I was inspired by another toy I saw on Instagram that is no longer easily found.
To make this, I used a square dowel I bought at the craft store and cut into different lengths. I made the longest 10 inches, and then reduced by 2 inches each time until I had run out of wood. Then I used the smallest circle in our stencil and a regular kids marker to draw circles on each piece. Since I only had 5 pieces I started with 5 circles and moved down from there to match the sizes. And, that's it! I kept all the colors the same to really isolate the number concept and not the changes between the colors.
I put on a tray and let Gus explore. It's been a great way to count and visual see that the higher a number goes the bigger it is! If I was to do this project again, I would have tried to get the dots to line up a bit better, and I would love to add 10 shapes instead of just 5.
But, if you're looking for a cheap, easy, fun way to explore math, this Montessori inspired DIY is perfect! I'll share some more of Gus' math work soon!
What kind of math work does your 3-year-old love?
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