How to Use Montessori Colored Bead Bars

This is a complete set of colored bead bars.

The Montessori colored bead bars are a series of beads on stiff wires that make bars. They are numbered one through nine, and each number has a different color. These bars can be used for everything from number recognition and counting to teaching students to square numbers. Once a color scheme has been introduced in a classroom, you must continue to use this color scheme to avoid confusion.

Things You'll Need

• Colored bead bars
• Number cards

Instructions

1. Use the bead bars to practice counting. The child can line up a series of bead bars in order from one to nine and place the correct number card next to each bar.

2. 

   Use several sets of bead bars to introduce geometric shape building. After counting out the bead bars so that there is one of each (1 through 9) in each set, the child can then arrange the bead bars in ascending order to form triangles, or put multiple triangles together to make a rhombus.

3. Have the child use multiple bars of the same length to create squares. At first, this can just be an extension of the triangle and rhombus exercise. However, make sure that the child is aware that the squares have the same number of beads on all sides, making a square made out of four 4-bead bars a "four square."

4. Instruct the child to count the number of beads in the square. If you like, you can also have them use the number cards to build the resulting number next to the square. As a result, when the child is done they will know that a "four square" is sixteen beads. This introduces the concept of squaring numbers.

Tips & Warnings

• These exercises should not all be introduced to the student at the same time. They are arranged in order of progressive difficulty, and should be taught on a timeline that is compatible with other lessons that the child is also working on.