Victoria Denyer

Bio

No Manawatu ahau No Papaioea ahau Ko Katikati tōku kāinga Ko Victoria Denyer tōku ingoa A life-long learner, I have a BA in French, an MSc in Global Politics, a Grad Dip in ECE, but most importantly for our purposes at Imagine It!, I am Montessori qualified kaiako for the 3-6 year old age group. I am the curriculum leader at BestStart Montessori Bethlehem in Tauranga, responsible for a teaching team of 16. I’ve served two terms on Montessori Aotearoa New Zealand national council, and have written for our national magazine, Montessori Voices. In the compulsory sector I have been both a primary and secondary school board member, and primary board chair (or as I recently learned it has now changed to, presiding member). I’m also an ECE rep on our Otumoetai Kahui Ako, representing the voices of 24 ECEs and involved in workstreams on oral language and transition to school. Originally from Palmerston North, after 16 years in London, we moved to near Katikati, in the Western Bay of Plenty 14 years ago, where my husband James is currently our mayor. We have two boys, Caspar aged 18 and Felix aged 15, who benefitted from the Montessori maths materials as their foundation to learning and have always inspired me to promote this part of the curriculum.

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Montessori Maths – Materialised Abstractions

October 10 @ 1:50 pm - 2:40 pm

Discover the colourful yet precise world of Montessori maths manipulatives! Learn how they can support tamariki aged 3-6 years old to gain confidence in their mathematical skills before starting school and contribute to achievement in their first year. How do they support the Level 1 mathematics strands of the NZ Curriculum?

Introduction to Montessori philosophy and pedagogy – the idea of The Mathematical Mind. The essentials of: repetition of self-chosen activities over long periods of time, self-correcting materials that move from concrete to abstract, multi-age classrooms – supporting others with feedback and inspiration build knowledge and confidence leading to a positive learner image. For those who have never seen Montessori at work, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09Y-huCMjIc)

Counting – The sequence of Montessori activities that support just the learning of 1-10! (Number Rods, Sandpaper Numbers, Spindle Box, Cards and Counters, Short Bead Stair)
Place Value/Part-Whole Thinking/Addition and Subraction/Basic Facts/Skip Counting
Following 1-10, how the tamaiti can then branch out into either the Decimal System, working with Teens and Tens or doing Number Combinations. (Golden Beads, Tens Boards, Teens Board, Bead Bars and Bead Chains, Addition Strip Board)
Geometry/2D and 3D Shapes. Classroom activities that provide an introduction to fractions and geometry. (Geometric Cabinet, Geometric Solids, Fraction Circles) Finally a mention of Montessori research.

Details

Date:: October 10
Time:: 1:50 pm - 2:40 pm
Event Category:: Workshop 4

Organiser

: Victoria Denyer