The Elementary Mathematics Program…

…teaches children mathematical skills and concepts in such a way that discovery and understanding will naturally lead to mastery. Age-appropriate, experiential learning is always related to purposeful, real-life examples, in order that the children will gain the skills they will need to apply math in school and in the world.

The children are assessed at the start of the year and placed in an instructional group based on ability rather than age. These groups are small and flexible, allowing the teachers to adapt the program and the groupings to the changing needs of each child. Math Lab is an additional workshop program, during which groupings are made more heterogeneously, in order that the children may benefit from one another’s skills,strategies, and learning styles.

Beginning in the early grades, children are taught the process of problem solving as a basic skill. Continual practice, using a wide repertoire of strategies, prepares them to successfully resolve the mathematical problems they will face in life. Children are taught to make predictions, explore, gather information, record their data, and then reach conclusions using their own reasoning powers. Secure in the understanding that exercising their reasoning skills is more important than getting the correct answer, they learn to achieve those correct answers without fear of failure.

Building upon the experiential learning process begun in Early Program, manipulatives are used to provide tactile and concrete understanding of mathematical concepts. As abstract understanding becomes secure, the children learn to use standard algorithms, calculators, and computers as tools to problem-solve. An ever-increasing emphasis is placed on accuracy and thoroughness, and on the written expression of their reasoning.

At Caedmon, we believe that creative, student-constructed learning promotes mathematical confidence, while building a strong knowledge base. By making math interesting, challenging, and enjoyable, we guide each child to his or her fullest mathematical potential.