By Jean C. Avery

In the Montessori classroom, sensorial materials are very important. Sharpening the senses enables the children to further understand all impressions that they encounter. The sensorial curriculum not only helps the children explore their environment, but also to develop their MATHEMATICAL MIND.

By exploring colors, sounds, taste, textures, and varying size and dimensions, a child will increase his desire to explore his world and constructively categorize all that they encounter. The more refined the information that is received by the brain the finer the distinction the child can make in the future. The sensorial materials are designed to refine the child’s senses to distinguish size, color, texture, weight, temperature, taste, smell, and form.

Sensorial activities also provide the opportunity to discover any deficiencies in sight or hearing. Early detection of problems is beneficial so that remedial work may begin at a young age.

The red rods are a specific example of laying the foundation for the mathematical mind. When a child can distinguish short to long, as demonstrated by mastering the red rods, he is then ready to understand the quantity of one to ten. At this time he/she would begin to explore the number rods and the math journey begins. Practical Life and Sensorial exercises have developed each child’s grasp of digits, (decimals, tens, and hundreds.)

Text & Photography by Jean C. Avery