Multiplication can feel like a big leap for young learners, but by learning multiplication with Montessori, it becomes a fun, hands-on experience. The Montessori bead bars offer a concrete way for children to see and feel multiplication, making this essential math skill easier to grasp. If you’re looking for ways to support your child’s math journey at home, this activity will help with learning multiplication with facts in a simple, practical way.
Using the bead bars, your child will begin to explore and memorize different fact families. Here’s how:
Step 1: Build a Chain. Have your child choose a fact family and set out ten of those beads in a chain (e.g., ten of the pink five chains in a line).
Step 2: Count and Label. Working with your child, count and label the chain. Only write the number for the last bead of each bar. Continuing with the five example above, you would count each bead (one, two, three, four, five) but would on write the number for the last bead (five). Keep counting on the next bead (six, seven, eight, nine, ten) and write the number for the last bead (ten).
Step 3: Practice Reciting the Chain. Show your child how to read the numbers forward and backward. Then, give your child a turn. Begin flipping numbers over one at a time and ask your child to recite the chain. Once all labels are flipped, they will be able to recite the chain from memory!
In this learning multiplication with Montessori activity, your child will get a clear visual of what multiplication actually means—groups of equal parts. They will also begin making the connection between repeated addition and multiplication. Here’s how you can guide them through learning multiplication with Montessori using bead bars.
Step 1: Select a Known Fact Family Let your choose a fact family that they have already mastered in activity one.
Step 2: Begin Building Groups. Start by placing one bead bars on the table. Tell you child, ‘this represents one group of __. So, one group of __ equals __). Repeat this process with two bead bars, then three, and so on until your child is finding the total of ten groups of that fact family.
Step 3: Practice, Practice, Practice! Now that your child understands the process, build the bead groups out of order. For each bead group, ask them to tell the “story” of what the group represents (e.g., seven groups of two) and also what each group equals. Keep practicing until your child can identify the total in each group without counting
The Montessori method emphasizes hands-on learning, which is especially effective for math. Learning multiplication with Montessori using bead bars allows children to create a visual model for multiplication and to connect it to something familiar… repeated addition. Instead of just memorizing multiplication facts, learning multiplication with Montessori gives kids a deeper understanding of how multiplication works, which sets a strong foundation for future math skills.
Building and counting bead groups is just the beginning. To continue your child’s exploration of multiplication and to move towards the next steps in fact memorization, check out our Multiplication Fact Mastery Course! And for more hands-on math activities and tips on learning multiplication with Montessori, keep following our weekly blog posts where we share simple, engaging ideas to support your child’s learning journey.
