09/11/2026
Building Strong Mathematical Foundations at EJJR
EJJR is renowned for its approach to mathematics, combining the strengths of the French curriculum with the Singapore Math approach. Both systems place a strong emphasis on concrete mathematics: before moving to abstract calculations, students manipulate, investigate, reason, and problem-solve in order to truly understand a mathematical concept.
A perfect example is the introduction of the decimal system in Grade 1. Understanding how our number system is organized around groups of ten establishes an essential foundation for years of mathematics to come. A strong understanding of units, tens, hundreds, and place value will later support addition and subtraction with regrouping, multiplication, division, larger numbers, decimals, and many other mathematical concepts.
During this lesson, our Grade 1 students were divided into groups and given a challenge: How can we efficiently determine the total number of cubes in a large collection?
Rather than being given a procedure, students first had to investigate and develop their own strategies. After exploring different solutions, they discovered the efficiency of organizing and counting the cubes in groups of ten—moving naturally from concrete manipulation toward an understanding of our base-ten number system.
And when mathematical thinking, teamwork, movement, and a little friendly competition can all be combined into one lesson, even better!
This is how mathematics becomes something children understand—not simply something they memorize.
