Wooden Abacus beads

Giant Bead Abacus for Counting and Addition

Giant Abacus textTurn a large cardboard box into a giant abacus for some fun counting and addition games with kids! Kinaesthetic learning and fun, with some motor skills mixed into the play too.We had a huge cardboard box in our house for a couple of months which we used to made scenery at Pop’s pirate party, a fishing boat for some Bible storytelling (pop on over to my other blog to see that one) and a giant train tracks small world game! Not keen to ever let a box go (much to my poor husband’s despair!) we squeezed one more use out of the other box lid. The kids gathered some string and a big box of coloured wooden beads and we designed a huge abacus for counting and maths play! These are the beads that we used and love:

Counting and adding with a giant abacus
I simply punctured some holes in either side of the box edges, making sure they lined up, then threaded the string across and knotted on the outside. Then the children were given the task of sorting the beads into piles according to colour, then counting gout 10 of each to thread onto the strings. This is itself was a great maths game for sorting, matching and counting! We threaded 10 of each colour onto individual strings, then I pulled very tight to tighten the string and added another knot on the opposite side. All finished and ready to play! We stood the box up and wedged it tight so it couldn’t fall down, then they started to move and count the beads across the strings.Counting with a giant abacus The abacus was fun for each girl at her own level of development. For baby Bean it was a great motor skill to be able to reach and pull the beads across the string. We talked about colours and shapes and I counted as she touched and moved them to help her become familiar with the number names.

Pop named the colours and was able to count small amounts independently and to higher numbers with my help. We practised working on 1:1 correspondence (i.e. that each object touched or moved represents one number counted.)

Playing with a giant abacusCakie counted them with ease and we set the challenge of adding together groups. Can you ding out how many orange and blue beads there are altogether? How about green and yellow? Is it the same amount? Why? How many are there on each string? How many are there altogether on the whole abacus? She was able to practise counting and addition to far larger numbers that she has down before and it was plenty of fun too!

Hape Hape Rainbow Bead Abacus
Toy (Hape)
  • Learn numbers and counting skills
  • 10 rows of 10 beads in 5 rainbow colors
  • 18 months - 4yrs
  • Hape finishes are all non-toxic, child safe, and of the highest quality
  • Materials include Baltic Birch, Maple and Rubberwood from FSC managed forests
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Generic Wooden Abacus Educational Toy for Kids, Beads Color: Yellow, Green, Orange, Blue, Shocking Pink
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  • A wooden abacus with brightly colored beads
  • About 10 beads per row and altogether ten rows
  • Can slide freely and smoothly back and forward on the wooden poles
  • Comes with two supports for standing
  • Measurement ( L x W x H): Approx. 10.35 x 8 x 12.2 inch / 26.3 x 20.2 x 3.1cm (Stands not included)
Wooden abacus toy,Metal abacus,Abacus manufacturers,Abacus
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Count to 100 by using wooden beads of abacus model
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VidaToy VidaToy Pencil Bead Abacus Wooden Toys For Kids
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  • This wooden abacus helps teach math skills, patterning and color recognition
  • 10 rows of 10 beads in different color
  • Dimension: 10*8*4 inch (26*22*10cm). Weight: 1.3 pound
  • Products are all non-toxic, child safe, and of the highest quality
  • Can slide freely and smoothly back and forward on the wooden poles
LittleTiger LittleTiger Miniature Wooden Abacus Counting Number Frame Maths Aid Educational Toy 50 Beads
Toy (LittleTiger)
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  • 10 beads per row and altogether 5 rows,50 beads in total
  • Great educational toy for your child to play
  • A wooden abacus with brightly colored beads
  • the size is very comfortable for children
VidaToy Vidatoy Large-sized Luxury Wooden Bead Maze Roller Coaster for Kids - Butterfly
Toy (VidaToy)
  • Material: Brightly painted beads made of solid wood. Water Based Paint which is Harmless to Baby.
  • Dimension: 12.6 * 9.6 * 15.7 inch.
  • A wonderful wooden bead maze for home, doctors offices, schools, and waiting rooms. Plays on the floor or table top.
  • Encourage shape and color differentiation, fine motor skills, and hand-eye coordination.
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