At the toddler level, simple counting exercises such as counting the plates when setting the table, counting the children as they line up, and through counting songs and rhymes, introduce the concept of quantity and the names of numbers.
At the primary level, children’s mathematical sense is built on the strong foundation of the sensorial materials where many fundamental concepts. For example, the child has experienced length, volume, gradation, sequencing, and grouping, via the senses. These activities make the abstract concepts of mathematics concrete for hands-on learning. Each activity isolates a particular concept and integrates with other activities to form a strong foundation for further exploration.
Beginning primary math activities include the concept of 1 to 10 (sequences, quantity, numeral names, combinations of ten, basic arithmetic). Additionally the materials include concepts such as teens, tens, introduction to the decimal system, and the operations of addition, multiplication, subtraction, and division.
Children explore fractional equivalences and the fractional names with manipulative materials. They use a wide variety of two and three-dimensional geometry materials and learn the basics of geometric nomenclature. They see and explore binomial and trinomial patterns in certain materials. These experiences help the child gain a visual and tactile impression for later work such as squaring, square root, cubing, and cube root during the elementary years. The emphasis is always on examining patterns and sequences and the connections between arithmetic and geometry in order to help children develop their mathematical minds from an early age.
At the primary level, the focus in on the procedure and concept of the operations, not on accuracy. That is, until the child is determined to find the correct answer.
