Manal Almadi
IG Martin Roth
Elementary PII M3
April 2014
Geometry Rationale
The Geometry area is the closest to the Sensorial area in primary. It is usually found nearest
to the Math area with the fraction insets as a linking bridge between them. The child has
explored and worked with the geometric cabinet at the primary stage and in most elementary
classrooms it is used for the first years if not even for the second years as well. The constructive
triangle boxes are also an overlap from the primary stage as well as the geometric solids. The
Pythagorus table is found in some advanced primary classrooms but not all, hence they might be
new to the elementary child. This geometric foundation in the primary years and their
continuation in elementary hones the child's mathematical mind; his intelligence.
"The first characteristic which manifests itself in our children after their process of
auto-education has been initiated is that their reactions become ever more ready and more
rapid: a sensory stimulus which might before have passed unobserved [...] is vividly
perceived. The relation between things is easily recognised, and thus errors in their use are
quickly detected, judged, and corrected. By means of the sensory gymnastics the child
carries out this primordial and fundamental exercise of the intelligence, which awakens and
sets in motion the central nervous mechanism." (The Advanced Montessori Method I 166)
! Almadi 1
Thus we see that the genius of the materials and method, which will be discussed in this
paper, have empirical scientific foundation and are not simply toys to be manipulated as puzzles.
Dr Montessori emphasizes the importance for manually manipulating such abstract concepts
in math to build the child's analytical mind. The path taken to this abstraction is unique and
founded on now neurologically proven methodology;...