Why I'm NOT using Montessori beads (and what I did instead)

Today's video explains two main reasons why I chose not to introduce the Montessori beads and their colour scheme to my toddler (and never did with my older guy either). You'll also get to see what I did instead!
Thanks for watching, stay safe and stay sane,
Julia

[@vanessasanchezq]

now i doný now if i´m gonna make this or the color beads because you are totally right

[@julial.b.6800]

Honestly, it depends where your child will be attending school afterwards. It's all about reducing the "culture shock" during transitions. For me, I knew my child wasn't going to attend a Montessori school here, so it did not make sense to introduce the colour sequence. The colour sequence shows up in Montessori math materials all the way to grade 6 (arguably into grade 7/8 dependind), so it would make sense if that was the road for your child. Thanks for watching and hope this helps!

[@myfanos3330]

Love this

[@julial.b.6800]

Thank you!

[@julial.b.6800]

Please don't mind the lighting here...I just couldn't get it not to look like washed out lemon.

[@juliegray9972]

Im curious if you would feel this same way if you were homeschooling and did buy all of the materials needed to teach mathematics using the Montessori theory? I am currently homeschooling my preschool age child using Montessori math. I have no plans on sending her to a local school but because i do still have some of the same concerns as you do, i am also using the Singapore math Kindergarten curriculum. I wanted to start using both while she is young to see if it will work long term, or if im going to need to drop one. I hoping to stick with the Montessori math, but i am truly unsure of what is exactly best for us at this time. Any insight would be appreciated!

[@julial.b.6800]

I actually wouldn't, and I definitely didn't clarify that in my video! If you're homseschooling, even if your are not using only Montessori curriculum to guide your child, I would use the beads. They are meant to be a visual and physical guide and are meant to be phased out (ideally in the math curriculum basically by grade 5, when the child should be able to do all operations abstractly and is moving onto decimals, fractions and squaring/cubing). The beads are also a cheaper or easily DIYable material which makes them far more appealing than most other materials, some of which can cost in the hundreds of dollars. If you're wanting to stick with Montessori and you have the "control" of homeschooling, then you'll be able to gauge so much better when your child has mastered each concept in order to move on. The beads, the stamp game and the multiplication board are my top 3 math material suggestions. Hope this helps!

[@julial.b.6800]

Sorry, I should clarify, if I was homeschooling, I would be buying or making many of the materials, but also adopting a slight hybrid method in order to help my child one day intergrate into a public/any school setting.