The Montessori language materials emphasize the sounds made by the letter(s). The sandpaper letters are lightly traced by the child as he repeats the sound of each letter, thus learning the letter phonetically and visually, and committing it to their muscular memory through the tactile sense. After the majority of alphabet sounds are mastered, sounds are combined to form words using the moveable alphabet. Later the child will learn two and three letter phonograms.
Mathematics
Mathematical concepts are easily acquired by children when they are exposed to materials that clearly illustrate the abstractions they represent. By using hands-on manipulatives children in a Montessori classroom can understand abstract mathematic concepts. "The child does not merely learn to count, they understand the concept of 'how many' because they hold the amount in their hands." The child learns not only what the number 100 looks like, but what the amount of 100 is.
