Golden Beads
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Description
The Golden Beads are the material most essential for teaching the decimal system to children in Montessori schools. It consists of unit beads which are just individual beads, ten bars which are short lengths of wire strung with ten beads, hundred squares which are made of 10 ten bars wired together to make a square, and thousand cubes which are made by wiring together 10 hundred squares.
Hundred squares and thousand cubes take a long time to make and can be rather expensive, so when doing activities that use a lot of hundreds and thousands, wooden representations of hundreds and thousands are used in the place of the beaded kind.
Make Your Own
Unit Bead
The least expensive unit beads available from the vendors below are a little less than a penny a piece.
The beads should be between 6 and 7.5 millimeters in diameter. They should be as spherical as possible so that they are equally wide as long.
6mm Round Gold Plastic Beads
- Bedazzlinbeads $6.99/950 (0.736¢)
- Craft Kits and Supplies $4.49-$4.99/750 (0.598¢-0.665¢)
- McGills Warehouse $2.49/1180 (0.211¢) (light gold)
- McGills Warehouse $2.49/1180 (0.211¢) (dark gold)
- McGills Warehouse $2.49/1180 (0.211¢) (yellow gold)
6mm Round Yellow Faceted
- Craft Kits and Supplies $3.59-$3.99/1000 (0.359¢-0.399¢)
Ten Bar
These can be purchased for as low as $0.20 a piece (bought in groups of 45). If you can make them for less than this it could be worthwhile.
Beaded Hundred Square
These can be purchased for as low as $1.67 each (bought in groups of 9).
Beaded Thousand Cube
The lowest price for these is $15.99 each.
Wooden Hundred Square
These can be purchased for as low as $0.44 a piece (bought in groups of 45). If you can make them for less than this it could be worthwhile.
Hundred squares and thousand cubes are 7.5cm across. Hundred squares are 7.5mm thick. (2.95 inches by 0.295 inches)
- Wooden hundred squares (and thousand cubes) could be made using a stencil made with a small hole punch and gold spray paint.
- Hundred squares can also be made using a stamp made from pencil erasers.
- Source:Walk Beside Me
Wooden Thousand Cube
These can be purchased for as low as $2.11 a piece (bought in groups of 9). If you can make them for less than this it could be worthwhile.
Where to Buy
Prices and links checked: 05 August 2020
| Single Beads - 100 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Store | Price | |
| Affordable Montessori | $5.00 | |
| E & O | $5.40 | |
| E & O with box |
$9.90 | |
| Kid Advance | $3.99 | |
| Leader Joy | $8.95 | |
| Montessori Concepts | $4.50 | |
| $3.00 | Montessori Outlet | $2.95 |
| Nienhuis | $12.50 | |
| Nienhuis | $18.50 | |
| Pink Montessori | $3.79 | |
| Unit Bead Cups | |
|---|---|
| Store | Price |
| Affordable Montessori | $4.00 |
| Alison's for 2 |
$8.00 |
| Bruins for 1 |
$2.00 |
| Montessori Outlet | $1.95 |
| Ten Bars - 9 | |
|---|---|
| Store | Price |
| Adena | $2.95 |
| Alison's | $7.60 |
| Bruins | $12.00 |
| Kid Advance | $3.99 |
| Leader Joy | $10.95 |
| Montessori Concepts | $3.00 |
| Nienhuis | $5.00 |
| Nienhuis | $6.00 |
| Ten Bars - 45 | |
|---|---|
| Store | Price |
| Adena | $12.95 |
| Affordable Montessori | $22.00 |
| Alison's | $48.00 |
| Bruins | $50.00 |
| E & O with box |
$37.80 |
| Kid Advance | $14.99 |
| Kid Advance with box |
$21.99 |
| Leader Joy with box |
$21.95 |
| Montessori Concepts | $16.00 |
| Montessori Concepts with box |
$21.00 |
| Montessori N' Such | $18.75 |
| Montessori Outlet with box |
$18.95 |
| Nienhuis with box |
$61.50 |
| Nienhuis with box |
$69.50 |
| Pink Montessori | $13.99 |
| Pink Montessori with box |
$18.90 |
| Hundred Square - 1 | |
|---|---|
| Store | Price |
| Affordable Montessori | $3.75 |
| Bruins | $10.00 |
| E & O | $9.00 |
| Kid Advance | $3.99 |
| Montessori Outlet | $3.95 |
| Nienhuis | $23.50 |
| Nienhuis | $28.50 |
| Hundred Square - 9 | |
|---|---|
| Store | Price |
| Adena | $23.95 |
| Alison's | $34.20 |
| Bruins | $99.00 |
| Kid Advance | $27.99 |
| Leader Joy | $33.95 |
| Montessori Concepts | $34.00 |
| Pink Montessori | $23.89 |
| Hundred Square - 10 | |
|---|---|
| Store | Price |
| Montessori N' Such | $24.00 |
| Hundred Square - 45 | |
|---|---|
| Store | Price |
| Adena | $131.95 |
| Thousand Cube - 1 | |
|---|---|
| Store | Price |
| Adena | $26.95 |
| Affordable Montessori | $31.00 |
| Alison's | $34.20 |
| Albanesi | $125.00 |
| Bruins | $90.00 |
| E & O | $40.50 |
| Kid Advance | $30.99 |
| Leader Joy | $36.95 |
| Montessori Concepts | $37.00 |
| Montessori N' Such | $36.00 |
| Montessori Outlet | $37.95 |
| Nienhuis | $115.50 |
| Nienhuis | $134.50 |
| Pink Montessori | $25.90 |
| Affordable Montessori | $1.50 |
| Materials Co. of Boston | $1.25 |
| Hundred Wooden Square - 10 | |
|---|---|
| Store | Price |
| Kid Advance | $9.99 |
| Leader Joy | $16.95 |
| Montessori Concepts | $12.00 |
| Montessori Outlet | $12.95 |
| Nienhuis | $23.50 |
| Hundred Wooden Square - 45 | |
|---|---|
| Store | Price |
| Adena | $30.95 |
| Alison's | $30.00 |
| Alison's | $55.00 |
| Bruins | $100.00 |
| E & O | $48.60 |
| Kid Advance | $32.99 |
| Leader Joy | $55.95 |
| Montessori Concepts | $56.00 |
| Montessori Outlet | $59.95 |
| Pink Montessori | $28.90 |
| Thousand Wooden Cube - 1 | |
|---|---|
| Store | Price |
| Affordable Montessori | $3.75 |
| Materials Co. of Boston | $4.75 |
| Thousand Wooden Cube - 9 | |
|---|---|
| Store | Price |
| Adena | $30.95 |
| Alison's | $30.00 |
| Alison's | $55.00 |
| Bruins | $55.00 |
| E & O | $46.80 |
| Kid Advance | $32.99 |
| Leader Joy | $49.95 |
| Montessori Concepts | $50.00 |
| Montessori Outlet | $53.90 |
| Pink Montessori | $28.90 |
| Thousand Wooden Cube - 10 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Store | Price | |
| Kid Advance | $34.99 | |
| $35.00 | Montessori Outlet | $59.95 |
| Nienhuis | $60.50 | |
| Sets | |
|---|---|
| Store | Price |
| Affordable Montessori with number cards |
$289.00 |
| Affordable Montessori with number cards |
$339.00 |
| Alison's 45 layout with large number cards |
$260.00 |
| Alison's | $359.10 |
| Alison's | $397.80 |
| Bruins | $555.00 |
| Bruins | $250.00 |
| E & O | $445.50 |
| Kid Advance | $239.99 |
| Kid Advance | $204.99 |
| Leader Joy | $299.95 |
| Montessori Outlet | $359.95 |
| Nienhuis | $678.80 |
| Nienhuis | $727.70 |
| Pink Montessori | $89.99 |
| Pink Montessori | $139.00 |
| Fetching Trays | |
|---|---|
| Store | Price |
| Affordable Montessori 8 trays |
$55.00 |
| Nienhuis 1 tray |
$39.10 |
Base 10 Blocks
An alternative to the golden beads are the base ten blocks that are used in many public elementary schools. These are made out of plastic and are a bit larger than the golden beads. If you can find a good deal on a used set, they would be fine to use instead.
Where to Buy
Prices and links checked: 31 July 2020
| Plastic Bead Sets | |
|---|---|
| Store | Price |
| Learning Resources 100 units, 30 tens, 10 hundreds, 1 thousand |
$39.99 |
| Learning Resources 10 tens |
$11.99 |
| Learning Resources 100 units, 20 tens, 1 hundred |
$7.99 |
| Learning Resources 600 units, 200 tens, 20 hundreds, 3 thousands |
$99.99 |
