Math material - Addition

We started into our math curriculum two weeks ago using the stamp game. This material emphasizes tens units and carrying up to the thousands. Jer enjoyed this material but not like I expected. He already knows how to add and I thought we would enjoy the large numbers worked in these equations.

 But he got tired of 'moving all the little pieces', as he put it.    

So today I printed out the Addition Strip Board from the Montessori Print Shop it was about $4 and it came out wonderfully. It also came with directions how to present it which were helpful! 

All throughout my reading on Montessori education I have come across references to 'booklets' especially in math work. I'm not completely clear on the size and shape of one but I found this example on Pintrest and it showed how to make a lovely little booklet. I whipped this one up in Illustrator and printed it off. (If you can tell me how to share files I will gladly post it.) He then uses the strips to work out the equations. 

Each page has a different addition group and this booklet is one through five. Jer liked doing this work and it gave him more opportunity to work on his own (something I am trying to work towards since it is a major goal in Montessori). At first he didn't want to do much but as he got to it, while I worked around the house, he eventually finished it. Using these tools remedially has been tricky but rewarding and I think, worth the time.

I'm looking for more information to how many times this should be done to help with memorization. Comments and conversation are always welcome!

Remedial sandpaper letters

Montessori says to introduce sandpaper letters to a child around 2 1/2 years old. These are the typical shape and color. The blues are vowels and the pinks are consonants. The child will trace the letter while making the sound and associate the sound with the shape, not nessesarily the name of the letter. But they could eventually be used for that too. (I think the moveable alphabet may be more for that kind of recognition. We are having fun with that too! I will post on it later.)

Jer knows his sounds and names of the letters. What I am to using them for is handwriting, which is another benefit of the early use of the letters. I learned D'Nealian or Italic handwriting when I was homeschooled in 5th and 6th grades. It was a much needed change in my handwriting that was barely, if at all, legible. I had not developed the concentration or control that I needed to slow down and be purposeful with my writing. D'Nealian is a style that is fluid and keeps your pen on the paper as much as possible and helped me get the words on the paper legibly. I am already seeing this tendency in Jer so I decided to go with this style instead of the cursive handwriting that Montessori usually introduces.


Since I am using a different handwriting style I can't just order as set from anyone. I saw This set on Sew Liberated and they are from the Etsy shop Polliwog which is operated by Michelle.

I contacted her and asked if she had a D'Nealian font. She was very helpful and was even able to tweak some things for us. It is an investment (as are most Montessori materials) but I know that baby K will be able to use them too.

Here is Jer with the beautiful set. I got the smaller size and hoped that would make them even more enticing for him. Well, just tracing them wasn't cutting it. So we started playing what we call the vowel game. It's kinda like scrabble (which he loves right now). We lay all the vowels out first, one of use using capitals and one lowercase. Then we make words around the vowels. Whoever has the most letters used wins.

When we are finished spelling the word, we trace the letters. It's introducing them to him and helping me brush up on letter shapes too! We also have the numbers 1-10, they are in the basket there, and are green. 

Being creative with the materials seems to be the key to introducing them for remedial work. Using what he is interested in right now (or is sensitive to, as Montessori says it) is a great help for ideas of how to use them.

I couldn't find much on using the materials remedially when I wanted to introduce Montessori to Jer. I hope these posts will be helpful for you who want to share the wonderful experiences with your children! 

What response have your children had to sandpaper letters? Have you used them in creative ways? Continue the conversation in the comments!