Montessori Math at Home for 2-10 Year Olds
Need help teaching math concepts using the Montessori method in your own home? Keep reading to learn more about the Montessori method, materials, Montessori Math at Home, and some awesome Montessori printables.
Math Activities for Preschool and Kindergarten
Montessori Math at Home for 2-10 Year Olds
We often expect very young children entering preschool to know quite a lot. For example, we think they should already recognize letters and numbers and have mastered their own address and phone number. While many children do know these facts, there is a distinct difference between knowing and understanding when it comes to math.
Preschoolers can often practice information like reciting their home address. However, that doesn’t mean they understand the concept behind the words or numbers.
Montessori Materials
Wooden Math Game Set with Numbers 1-10 from threewoodshop
How is Math Taught in Montessori?
Maria Montessori, the founder of the Montessori method of teaching, believed in the importance of giving children concrete experiences with math concepts. This can be achieved in a way that is interactive and fun for your kids.
Learning through play affords your children a concrete foundation for math that they will benefit from later. So how can we encourage math at home in a concrete way? Through play and work with objects!
In the early years, math concepts are taught through everyday interactions. Toddlers can learn about non-standard measurement as they compare different objects. Phrases like “you’re so big!” take on a whole new meaning when you realize the “math” behind it.
Later, materials are used to help bring concepts to life. Counting animal figures, blocks, and beads on a string help children to practice important math concepts in a concrete way.
Finally, kindergarteners and early elementary learners begin to use these same concrete objects in new ways to help solve more complex problems and continue to learn and develop a deeper mathematical understanding.
Keep reading to learn how you can get started at home.
Montessori Printable Activities for Kids
How Can I Encourage Math at Home?
As you go about your day at home with your children, you can introduce Montessori math in a natural way. For example, toddlers can begin to count the stairs as you go up or down. In this way, you’re attaching numbers to a concrete object. This is called one to one correspondence and it’s an essential early math skill.
You can ask questions to provide more opportunities for math. While observing birds outside, ask “How many birds do you see?” Then help your child count them. If you’re playing with toy cars, count the cars. When you build with blocks, encourage your child to help you build a tower that is 10 blocks high, counting each block as you build.
Need more Montessori math activities for preschoolers and kindergartners? Check out the activities and printables below.
Montessori Activities
Montessori Maths Activities
Materials are a big part of teaching math in a Montessori style. At first, acquiring math materials for Montessori might seem like quite a job: time consuming and expensive. However, Montessori math doesn’t need to be either of those things. There’s no reason you can’t use the Montessori method on a budget, especially when it comes to math.
Materials used in Montessori math at home vary depending on age. Preschoolers will benefit from number cards, counting books and games, a variety of small objects to practice counting, number rods, and blocks. Kindergartners can use objects like sand trays, sandpaper number cards, measuring cups, and a ruler.
30+ Montessori Math Activities
Toddler Math Activities
- Toddlers love to be helpful! Take advantage of it by asking your toddler to bring you objects. For example, “Could you bring me 5 potatoes for dinner?” or “Let’s pick 10 flowers from the garden.”
- Have your toddler count as you push them on the swingset. I often tell my kids I will push them 5 more times before we go in. Then, we count each push together. It’s so much fun that they forget to be upset about having to come inside at the end.
- My favorite games involve counting tickles, hugs, and kisses. I like to play a game where I count how many “tickles” tall my children are today. The end result is always a lot of giggles!
- Learn about non-standard measurement by having toddlers bring you “something large” or find “something small.” It’s like a scavenger hunt for toddlers. When the game is over, make a big deal of their success by taking a photo of them with the prized object.
- Count seashells after a beach trip, teddy bear cookies during snack time, use pencils, pegs, or rocks.
Preschool Math Activities
- Sandpaper numbers are a big part of Montessori math learning. They provide children with a concrete tactile way to experience numbers. You can prepare your kids for handwriting by having them trace each sandpaper number with their fingers. It’s an excellent way for kids to become familiar with numbers and how they are written. Check out sandpaper number activities for more fun with this easy Montessori tool.
- Tracing practice can be accomplished in lots of ways! My favorite involves tracing numbers in sand, salt, or dirt. It’s the perfect way to encourage kinesthetic learners to practice writing numbers.
- Sorting objects is another important preschool skill with lots of options for practice. Check out my fun flower themed sorting activities for more fun ways to practice sorting at home.
Math Activities for Kindergarten
- Making cookies or baking together can be a fun and tasty way to learn about math for kindergartners. Let your child help you measure ingredients and set the temperature for the oven.
- Playing math games together is another fun way to practice math learning at home. Any board game can be used that involves dice, a spinner, or counting spaces on a game board. There are also a variety of fun dice games for children like Tenzi.
Free Montessori Math Printables
Printable pages are an easy and budget-friendly way to incorporate Montessori math learning into your school at home. Plus, they usually don’t require a lot of prep work, so they’re perfect for busy moms with young kids.
Here are some easy to use Math printables available right here on my site:
- Montessori Math with Pumpkins and Acorns
- Flower Theme Math Activities
- Winter Woodland Animal Math Activities
- Valentine’s Day Math Activities for Preschoolers
- Ladybug Math Counting Cards
Whatever your budget, incorporating Montessori concepts into your math lessons at home is a fun and easy way to help your kids learn to love math while building a foundation that will help them succeed later in life.
Hands on Math Activities
Montessori Math on a Budget
DIY Fall Math Activities
If you have questions about using Montessori methods, I’m happy to help. Got a fun math learning story to share? I can’t wait to read about it in the comments!
Montessori Activities and Printables
Studies have shown that you will also love the following ideas if you like them. I have pulled them together for you right here!
150+ Montessori Activities and Free Printables
