In Montessori, why would a child that can count to19 be able to complete addition with the short bead stair?

Question

Montessori Child Education

Answer 1

I'm a little confused by your question. The child can count to 19. What do you mean by the 'short bead stair'? The Snake Game uses a bead stair in which children are exposed to learning the different combinations (addition facts) of 10. If you can explain your question a little more, I would try to answer it!

Answer 2

I am finishing the subject of math in Montessori teacher training just now, and I think I may have an answer to your question (that is, if I understand your question correctly!).

Montessori education builds (in math for instance) knowledge in young children by working with concrete objects, slowly working towards abstraction.

A child that can count to 19, does not necessarily understand how many '19' really is. Many children learn to count using 'rote' methods. Just like when a child sings his/her 'ABC's', they think of it as a song, not really knowing what the alphabet is (how it is written or how it is read). The short bead stair helps children to visualize and gain a concrete understanding of just how much 19 really is, that it is a quantity and not just a number.

At a young age, you may often find children doing addition/subtraction while using their fingers. This helps children understand the quantity behind the number. Just as with the short bead stair, this helps develop a concrete sense of a quantity.

At this young age, the bead stair is offered as a crutch to aid in the childs discovery of math. This is, of course, much better than using your fingers for addition, as it can leave a lasting imprint in the learning process. (Have you ever seen an adult counting with his fingers? lol! I know that I have.)

Answer 3

Addition with sbs requires 2 sets of sbs i.e.9 each.This adds uotp a maximum of 18