Early Childhood - Colored Beads in the Math Curriculum
Throughout the Early Childhood curriculum, beads are used to represent the numbers 1 through 10. The Colored Bead Stair is a quintessential Montessori math material that introduces connection between the quantity and their corresponding color. Montessori math colors are consistent across all work to help the child grasp math concepts, especially in more advanced work. As students progress through the curriculum, the Short and Long Bead Chains are introduced to teach skip counting, preparing them for multiplication. These colored beads are also carried on into Lower and Upper Elementary as they learn long multiplication and equations.