The Number Board - A Classic

How many times have you heard the phrase "Math is a language of its own?" You can really get a sense of this when watching a child try to put the symbols of numbers together with the act of using the names of these symbols while we are counting. We have to get to a place where we know that the counting of objects has symbols associated with those sounds we make while doing the counting. One way to start this process is with a number board. It's akin to learning to speak our first language, and then going to school to learn to read and write that language.

Here is an example of using the Number Board.

This is my friend Dominic's work. Dominic was presented with a blue board with a grid on it, a container with printed tiles of the numbers 1-20 in it, and a board with the numbers 1-100 printed on it in a grid. He was then challenged to recreate the printed board by searching through the tiles and start putting those tiles on the blue board in the same order he saw the numbers on the printed board.

As you can see, Dominic has navigated his way successfully, not only through the first container of tiles numbered 1-20, but the second container of 21-40, and had just emptied his 3rd container out when I snapped the picture. To assist Dominic in keeping track of where he is, Teacher Cinda has taped a paper to the printed board underneath the last row of numbers from this particular container.

So what is the teacher's role in this task? Well, that varies. For our friend Dominic, taping the paper in the correct spot is just about it. He is really quite self-sufficient and self-motivated in this task! We suspect Dominic may be completing the board to the number 100 relatively soon!

For others, just working with 10 tiles may be a challenge. The teacher may sit and hold a pencil or finger on the number the child is searching for, and continue to encourage that child to "not give up" until they have chosen a tile they feel is the one they are looking for. This reserved encouragement is much harder than it sounds. For many of us, the instinct is to "help" by pointing out the number, or maybe correcting the positioning of the number once the child has placed it on the board is simply too much to restrain from doing. But the magic of the Montessori method taught here at The Children's School is to applaud the work the child puts into the task - THEIR WORK, not the teachers. If it is not perfect, no worries. That child has shown focus and willingness for the time they have put into the task, and that is to be applauded. They will get another opportunity with the number board or any other Montessori task, and they will have positive memories of doing a good job, and the next time they will do more! It's a beautiful thing!