“What the hand does, the mind remembers.” — Maria Montessori

Over the past few weeks, students in the Rainbow Lorikeet classroom have been exploring fractions. Maria Montessori understood that children internalise abstract concepts most effectively when they are first introduced in a concrete, tangible way. When children can see, touch, and manipulate materials, they have the opportunity to build deep and lasting understandings. This principle has guided our teaching of fractions this term.

Here are some of the engaging, hands-on activities the children have been working on:

• Cutting apples into halves, quarters, and eighths
• Using playdough to create equal parts
• Noticing fractions in everyday life – clocks (half past, quarter past), advertising (½ price), sandwiches and Salada crackers (halves and quarters), and sports games (quarter time, half time)
• Using Montessori fraction circles to compare parts of a whole and explore equivalence
• Placing fractions on a number line between 0 and 1
• Folding paper shapes – not just circles or squares, but also rectangles, hexagons, and triangles
• Using puzzles to match visual models with written fractions
• Dividing collections of objects, like counters or beads, into halves, thirds, and quarters
• Counting by halves and quarters to reinforce the concept of fractional increments

We encourage you to continue this learning at home! Cooking is a wonderful way to explore fractions through measurements. How many other ways can you and your child find fractions in the world around you? By drawing children’s attention to these concepts in fun and meaningful ways, we help them build a strong mathematical foundation.

We also love hearing from the children about what they’ve been noticing at home. If you would like more ideas to strengthen your child’s mathematical understanding, please reach out via email — we’re always happy to help.