Sample material - spindles
Our 2-year-old can count to about 16, but doesn’t have any concept of what the numbers signify. Shortly after Easter, I had this conversation with him:
him: “Mommy, I want some jelly beans.”
me: “Okay. How about 5?”
him: “No. I want 2!”
I realized he was ready for the next Montessori math material, “spindles”. Click here to see a “real” spindle box, plus the $65 price tag! I spent roughly $5 on mine. The child simply puts one spindle (or pencil, in my case,) in the cup marked 1, and so on up to 9. The direct purposes of this exercise are to give the child a concept of what the numerals signify, and in particular, to introduce the concept of zero.
I introduced this material to my 2-year-old by setting out the cups marked 0, 1, 2, and 3, plus the cup with 6 spindles. I silently demonstrated how to set the cups out in order, and how to fill them with the appropriate number of pencils. I put the materials away, then asked him if he wanted a turn. He did, but he didn’t put the cups in the correct order, or put the correct number of pencils in the cups. I may have jumped the gun on this material by a couple months. I bet ya, though, that from watching his older brother use these materials, the day will come sooner than I think that he will figure them out all on his own. Every month or so, I will just sit down with him and demonstrate it correctly again.
You may be thinking, why go to the trouble of all this with a 2 or 3 year old? He’s going to learn this stuff in school some day anyway. True enough.
There are purposes to the materials which go way beyond learning simple math. A typical 3 year old is more than capable of learning these concepts, so why not teach him? A 3 year old looks at these materials with great interest, and completely enjoys working with them at his own pace, at his own leisure, and effortlessly. My son is going to teach himself what “3″ means, and the day that he discovers it, he will be filled with joy & confidence. It builds self-esteem. This type of learning is not tedious, and fosters a love of learning that will hopefully stay with him all his life. This material will teach him how to concentrate, and will be an exercise in dexterity & gross motor control, and when I make sure he always puts it away when he’s finished, respect for and care of the learning environment.
