Dr. Montessori identified the qualities of the ‘Mathematical Mind’ as the power to organize, classify and quantify the experiences in one’s life. Mathematics is not only addition and subtraction, but is rather everything that a child encounters in his daily life. We can say that a baby is naturally hardwired to learn math and if mathematical learning is not part of the child’s early experience, the numerical part of the mind goes undeveloped and learning math becomes much more difficult. It is quite a common misconception that children under the age of four or five years old do not have the cognitive ability to learn early mathematical concepts, but in reality, the ‘mathematical mind’ of a child, the core foundation of human intelligence, should be stimulated and developed as early as it may be possible.
In the Montessori method of teaching, the child is initially introduced to the concepts of math’s indirectly when he works with the sensorial and practical life materials. These early exercises that he performs prepare the child not only for mathematics but for the world in general. A child who has gone through these essential exercises will have a much more profound impact on his environment, as He will be able to classify his surroundings and establish his mental order.