In the chaos and bustle of everyday life, it is not often that an individual stops to take a deeper look at the world around him. But if she were to stop for just a moment, open her eyes, and truly admire the world she lives in, she would recognize the beauty of the patterns that surround her. Every single day, without even realizing it, individuals interact with patterns and relationships that are at the heart of geometry. Maria Montessori was exceptionally aware of the world of geometry she was surrounded by and was able to design geometric materials within her curriculum that support the understanding of patterns, relationships and functions to represent and explain real-world phenomena in a variety of ways. These simplistic materials allow students to explore the world of geometry from an early age. They also use real-world examples that allow the child's eyes to open to the prevalence of geometry around him. And finally, these materials allow the child to build and create works of art that lead to further expansion in his understanding and vision of geometry. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayDr. The Montessori curriculum does not hesitate to immerse the child in the world of geometry. The exploration of geometry begins in early childhood education classes from 3 to 6. At this age the child is equipped with an “absorbent mind” as Montessori defines it. It exploits the child's ability to absorb information from his environment "through the active exploration of his surroundings and the materials placed within him". Already at such a young age the child has the opportunity to immerse himself and discover geometric concepts in a sensorial way. Materials such as geometric solids and the geometry cabinet are available for the child to explore using their hands, tracing the edges with their finger or pencil and feeling the weight of the solids they are holding. Through his investigation and experience with materials he is able to give names to the shapes and solids he works with. The work with these materials does not stop at the early childhood context. As your child enters grades 6-9, the lower elementary grades, he or she is provided with more opportunities to work with these same materials. At this school level the child is introduced to a new material, the box of sticks. The concepts he had the opportunity to absorb sensorially in early childhood are now taken one step further. We invite you to understand these figures in more detail. The 6-9 year old works with geometric materials to explore the concepts of lines, angles, triangles, quadrilaterals and more. The use of nomenclature cards becomes important during this phase of geometric discovery. Soon the child will begin to understand these simple definitions and will be able to express these new concepts in his own words. Exposure to geometric materials at such a young age paves the way for the child's discovery of geometric patterns, relationships, and functions in his or her environment that explain and represent real-world phenomena. As your child progresses in her Montessori education, these early geometry foundations will allow her to recognize patterns in real-world phenomena that are important to the mathematical formulas she will learn in grades 9-12. Another way that Montessori geometry materials support understanding patterns, relationships, and functions to represent and explain real-world phenomena is by being paired with lessons that incorporate exploration of the world around the child. Maria Montessori consideredthe child's learning environment both as the classroom and as “extensions beyond the classroom into nature and the arts.” She explains it briefly in her book Education for a New World, when she states that "Education is a natural process carried out by the human individual, and is acquired not by listening to words, but by experiences in the environment" (Montessori, 1946 , p. 3). It is evident that this belief of his was given careful consideration as he was going through the process of designing his geometry curriculum. The simplistic materials used to teach geometry are paired with connections to the child's real world, the experiences he or she is familiar with, and the discoveries he or she will soon make. An example of how the curriculum allows the child to explore concepts in the world around them is evident in the Study of Lines. In the Positions of a Straight Line lesson the child is asked to look outside to find where the earth appears to meet the sky to learn about horizontal lines. Furthermore, at the end of this same lesson, the child is given the task of exploring his classroom and the environment around him to discover examples of the different positions of the lines he has just learned. Since the child is given this opportunity, he no longer sees the legs of a table only as such. Now he sees that the legs look like vertical lines. There are several lessons that offer the child the opportunity to explore the world around him and make connections between geometric concepts and his daily life. This opportunity allows the child's eyes to open to the surprising prevalence of patterns, relationships and functions by which he is surrounded. Finally, one of the most critical ways in which Maria Montessori's geometric materials support the understanding of patterns, relationships and functions. functions to represent and explain real-world phenomena is through their innate ability to enable the child to construct figures and create works of art. The child is provided with a geometry diary which, in a certain sense, will become his artistic portfolio. Using the box of sticks, the child builds the different shapes, figures and concepts he has learned. He then transfers these creations into the journal with precision. Likewise, the teacher can ask the child to compose a work of art based on a concept the child has just learned. These creations are filled with colored pencils or watercolor paints. Through a discussion of the iron insert material in her book Advanced Montessori Methods II, Maria Montessori explains the importance of the child combining geometry with art. She states that:The exercises with this material are not only exercises in composition with the pieces of an insert or in replacing them in the relevant metal plates; they are also drawing exercises which, due to the effort they require, allow the child to know every detail and meditate on it. Not only does the child work with the figures she has created, but the close attention to detail provided by the inclusion of the art allows the student to truly grasp the details of the figures and concepts. Additionally, by incorporating art into the geometry curriculum, the child begins to see it as more than just a mathematical concept. Integrating art into geometry gives it more meaning and opens your child's eyes even more to the creations around them, just as incorporating real-world experiences into lessons does. Just as the child begins to see geometry in the world, he begins to see geometry in works of art. In turn, she sees art in the world around her. For example, if the child were asked to explore the world around him and draw a picture of geometric concepts in his environment, he might choose to draw a brick wall. The 3