MATHEMATICS

The mathematics program provides experiences for students to use materials that allow them to explore, formulate, test, discuss, and construct numerical concepts. Students come to see the usefulness of math and its relevance to everyday situations through a wide variety of activities suited to their age, readiness and interests.

Materials used include Cuisenaire rods, unifix-cubes, geo-boards, pattern-blocks and attribute blocks, iPads, as well as other everyday objects.

Children address challenging practical problems and are introduced to concepts in the following areas: numbers, one-to-one correspondence, attributes and sets, numeral reading and writing, classification, comparisons, measurement, geometry, spatial perspective and relations, and place value. They are also introduced to the concepts of equality, addition, and subtraction, and to the symbols used to communicate this information.

Children continuously strengthen their skills in estimating, making connections, discovering and creating patterns. These skills help to develop the logical and the flexible thinking needed in problem-solving.

As with reading, we strongly discourage parents from seeking tutors or classes for children to memorize their math facts through methods that do not emphasize exploration and conceptual understanding first. We strongly believe that students need to have a grasp of underlying mathematical concepts before being asked to recall the facts at rapid speeds. As with reading, it is our goal to instill in our students, a love for and confidence in mathematics.