BEFORE THE NUMBER RODS: BUILD NUMBER SENSE IN THE EARLY YEARS
Long before a child counts the number rods, the mathematical mind is already awake. Number sense, the felt understanding of quantity, pattern, and relationship, is the ground upon which all later math grows. When it is strong, the hands on materials make sense.
Join Tammy Oesting, M.Ed., to explore what number sense is, how to spot early math milestones, and which conditions help it flourish. Learn simple number games you can use tomorrow, try them with your children between sessions, and leave with printable materials ready for your classroom. Come ready to play and wonder!
PNMA invites you to share 2 evenings with Tammy Oesting as our Fall speaker. Her experience in support of Montessori teacher education is well known here in the Northwest!
6:00-7:30 Online Workshop on Thursday Evenings: November 5 & 12;
In this lively two-part webinar, Tammy Oesting, M.Ed., invites you to slow down and look closely at number sense, early math milestones and which conditions help it fourish.
You'll play simple, joyful games that nurture number sense, and you'll learn to recognize the small signs of mathematical growth that are easy to overlook. You'll also explore how to set up the conditions in which a young child's natural pull toward order, precision, and exploration becomes true mathematical understanding.
You'll leave with printable handouts and easy-to-make materials you can use right away. Between the two sessions you'll try the games with your own children, then come back to share what you noticed and go deeper. Come ready to play, wonder, and see the math already happening all around you.
Key takeaways:
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What number sense is and isn't. You'll learn why it matters more than early counting and how it prepares children for the Montessori math materials.
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Foundational games you can use tomorrow. These are simple, low-cost, hands-on activities that build quantity, comparison, pattern, and subitizing (seeing "how many" at a glance).
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Milestones to watch for. You'll learn the observable signs of mathematical development from toddlerhood through age seven, so you know when a child is ready for what comes next.
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Conditions that nurture the mathematical mind. This covers how the environment, language, and your own curiosity shape a child's relationship with number.
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A clear pathway into numeration. You'll get practical steps for weaving number sense into your curriculum before introducing the number rods.
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Ready-to-print resources. You'll receive PDF handouts and materials to use during the sessions and in your classroom.
Biography
Tammy Oesting, M.Ed., has spent more than 30 years in Montessori education and is still learning from children, colleagues, and the world around her. After nine years as a nomadic educator, she settled in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She now coaches educators and serves on the graduate faculty at The Institute for Educational Studies (TIES), where she developed its short course on Syntropy, the cosmological framework Dr. Montessori was exploring late in her life. Tammy is a founding member of Montessori Everywhere, a recipient of the 2021 AMS Community Service Award, and holds AMS credentials in Early Childhood and Elementary education. She finds her deepest inspiration in the ordinary moments that turn out to be extraordinary. tammyoesting.com
