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The Mathematical Mind
"This system in which a child is constantly moving objects with his hands and actively exercising his senses, also takes into account a child's special aptitude for mathematics" (Montessori, The Discovery of the Child, 2007: 279).
Montessori observed that children are born with a “mathematical mind” (Discovery of the Child, 2007) supported by our human tendencies for order, exactitude and orientation.
This article by Jo Boaler explores how many children are turned off maths once they start learning it formally in school and how they should be allowed to explore mathematical concepts and further develop their mathematical mindset, rather than by simply teaching them the rules. This development, of course, should start in the early years with a hands-on approach allowing the child to develop a concrete, hands-on sense of abstract frameworks as this article by Barbara Isaacs sets out.