How to Teach Numbers with Montessori Sandpaper Numbers (Step-by-Step Lesson)

Numbers can be something very abstract and difficult to understand, especially for children. In this blog I will show you how to teach the numbers (0 to 9) to your child in a fun and hands on way so that they get a good foundation for more complicated math later on!

Check out also this other post where I show you how to make the Sandpaper Numbers we will use in this activity!

Target ages: 3 ½ to 4 ½ years old.

Table of Contents

What is the Montessori Method? What is the Math Area in Montessori? The Mathematical Mind Quantity Before Symbol Sandpaper Numbers Presentation Conclusion

What is the Montessori Method?

The Montessori Method follows the child’s interests and needs. Maria Montessori created different areas in the classroom (Practical Life, Sensorial, Math and Language) with specific materials to teach children different skills that will help them in their everyday life.

If you think about a normal school, you would probably imagine a big chalkboard on the wall and all of the students sitting at their desk looking at the teacher. In a Montessori classroom this looks very different. The main difference between a Montessori school and a traditional one is that the teachers give one-on-one lessons, or very small group lessons, and follow the interest of each child. Individual lessons are a great way for teachers to get to know the children and their needs. We use tangible materials that are built to teach specific skills, perfect to catch the attention of the little ones since they are using their hands. Maria Montessori once said: “Movement of the hand is essential. Little children revealed that the development of the mind is stimulated by the movement of the hands. The hand is the instrument of the intelligence”.

In the Montessori classroom, children are also allowed to walk freely in their environment and choose the work they want to do that has been previously presented by the teacher. Seeing children walking around the classroom like this can look a little messy at times, but I like to call it “organized chaos”. Children have a lot of freedom but within set boundaries.

The Montessori Method has been such a big eye opener for me in the way I want to teach and educate my children. I hope it inspires you too!

What is the Math Area in Montessori?

Since math can be a hard topic to understand for children, Maria Montessori broke down the hard concepts into concreate materials for children to manipulate.

She has lessons to teach children the numbers 0 to 10; the Decimal System; the different equations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division); fractions and much more! And all of this before a child is 6 years of age! The only explanation that children can understand such hard concepts at such a young age is because the materials she created are simply amazing!

Maria Montessori often referred to the hand as the instrument of the mind.

The Mathematical Mind

Whenever you are crossing the street, buy something at a store, scheduling your time or measuring ingredients to make a meal, you are using your mathematical mind. Mathematics is not just found in books but in the world that surrounds us. Maria Montessori said that our mind is mathematical by nature. We are all born with a mathematical mind that have the following abilities:

• Curiosity and interest, which leads to investigation.
• An awareness of the world that leads us to observe everything around us.
• The ability to reason and make judgements.
• The ability to make order out of chaos.
• Organize and classify information.
• The ability to complete a task through repetition, exactitude and precision.

Screens and technology have put to sleep a lot of this innate abilities that we are born with. We should be conscious on how we use them with our children so that we make sure their spark for investigation, exploration and curiosity is still there!

Quantity Before Symbol

It is not uncommon for children to know the name of the numbers by memory, but that does not mean they understand the quantity that is associated with those numbers.

Maria Montessori prepared different materials to understand this abstract concept of numbers to children. The first lesson she created for this was the Number Rods. The Number Rods introduce children to the quantity of each number (e.g.: “two is a bigger quantity than one”) in a concrete and tactile way. After this, we will teach the Sandpaper Numbers (symbol) for our children to learn what every number looks like. The materials that follow after that will reinforce the learning of the quantity and symbol together (like the Number Rods with Numerals, Spindle Boxes, Cards and Counters or the Memory Game of Numbers).

When we teach the numbers to our children in this way, we create a strong foundation for more complicated and abstract math in the future.

Sandpaper Numbers Presentation

Preparation: Your child has worked previously with the Number Rods and the Sandpaper Letters

Materials:

• DIY Sandpaper Numbers
• A box for the Sandpaper Numbers

Age: 3 ½ to 4 ½ years old

Presentation:

1. Go to the shelf and introduce the activity to your child: “Today I am going to show you the Sandpaper Numbers. Let’s bring them to the table.”
2. Sit at the table.
3. Stack the numbers upside down, one on top of each other, and place them on the right side of the table in front of you.
4. Take one number (choose the number from your child’s age so that he gets excited!) and put it on the center of the table.
5. Say: “This is 3. You are 3 years old, that’s your number!”
6. Continue: “I am going to trace 3.”
7. Trace the number three times saying the name every time after tracing it.
8. Invite your child to do the same.
9. Place the number upside down on top of the table.
10. Repeat the sequence with the other two numbers.
11. Do a Three Period Lesson with the three new numbers:
    • Naming: name the three numbers for your child as you point at them (“this is 1”, “this is 2”, “this is 3”).
    • Recognition: give them different commands so that they can start recognizing the name of each number (“give me 2”, “place 1 on the table”, “point to 3”, “place 2 on your lap”, etc.). Make it fun!
    • Recall: when you see your child feels comfortable recognizing each number, point to each one of them and ask every time: “what is this?”. Your child will say the name of each number. If they can’t remember, you can tell them and try this lesson again another day.
12. If your child got the numbers right, we can do three more numbers.
13. Fade and observe.

NOTES:

• Pick any three numbers, but don’t include the number “0” yet, we will introduce it in a different lesson later on.
• Over the next several days we are going to give Three Period Lessons until our child has a good understanding of all the numbers.

FOLLOWING EXERCISES:

1. “Bring me…” Game: We will place the Sandpaper Numbers in a place in the room and we will ask our child to bring us some numbers, and to trace them when they bring them to us.
2. Writing the numbers on the chalkboard: Invite your child to trace the Sandpaper Numbers a few times and then to practice writing them on a chalkboard.

Conclusion

I hope you give this Montessori lesson a try! It’s an engaging, simple and effective way of teaching your children the numbers. And make sure to check out my other post where I teach you how to make the Sandpaper Numbers!