Math

‘For the counting child, 9+4 does not equal 13; it (9+4) makes 13 by counting.’ 

- Margaret Stern and Toni Gould

The Stern Structural Arithmetic program, created by Catherine Stern in the 1940's and further developed with Margaret Stern, provides wooden math manipulatives that ‘fit’ into puzzle like spaces. As children use these multisensory materials, they develop a deeply internalized sense of numbers, their relationships and the visual spatial thinking that underpins mathematics. Effective concretization of a concept is fundamental to math proficiency and is necessary for a child to go beyond superficial, mechanical, and often inadequate knowledge. Ordinal counting does not allow many students to grasp number relationships.

Stern Structural Arithmetic Program:

• Develops ability to think and reason vs. teaching facts by rote and in isolation
• Introduces facts as patterns in groups
• Is relational and conceptual
• Develops concepts by measuring, not counting
• Develops visual spatial thinking