Montessori Les chiffres - French Number Set with Slate

Description

The box lists its own contents: ten numerals with a rough surface, a slate with chalks, cards depicting quantities, and counters for laying out odd and even. The front shows the slate with '1 2 3' written on it, next to a card with a green two and two little donkeys.

The approach comes from the Montessori method. A child first traces the rough shape of a numeral with a finger and so feels the direction in which it is written; then it writes that same numeral on the slate in chalk. The slate wipes clean, so the same numeral can be practised as often as needed.

The cards link the symbol to a quantity: two donkeys belong with the two. The red counters then make visible whether that quantity falls into equal pairs, and so the difference between odd and even lands without anything having to be explained.

The age on the box is 4-6 years, in a diamond at the top left; along the bottom it says 'Fabriqué en Italie'. This is the French-language edition, so the instructions are in French. The material itself carries no words, only numerals and drawings, and works just as well at a table where no French is spoken.