Maths · Preschool–Kindergarten
Free Montessori bead stair worksheets
Four bead stair worksheets: count the beads on nine mixed-order bars, color outline bars 1 to 9 in the traditional colors, match each bar to its numeral, and add two bars for totals up to 10.
Bead stair: count the beads
Nine coloured bead bars in mixed order; count and write the number. Free printable PDF.
Bead stair: colour the beads
Outline bead bars 1 to 9 to colour in the traditional bead stair colours. Free printable PDF.
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Bead stair: match bar and number
Draw a line from each bead bar to its numeral. Free printable PDF.
Bead stair addition: add two bars, totals up to 10
Eight rows show two coloured bead bars with a plus sign; child counts the beads on both bars together and writes the total, all answers 10 or less.
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These four Montessori bead stair worksheets follow the usual order of the material. Sheet one shows the nine colored bead bars in mixed order; the child counts the beads on each bar and writes the number. Sheet two gives the bars as outlines, in order from 1 to 9, to color in the traditional bead stair colors. Sheet three asks the child to draw a line from each bead bar to its numeral, matching quantity to symbol. Sheet four is bead stair addition: eight rows each show two colored bars with a plus sign; the child counts both bars together and writes the total, always 10 or less.
The bead stair is a set of nine bead bars, one for each number from 1 to 9, each in its own color: red for 1, green for 2, pink for 3, yellow for 4, light blue for 5, purple for 6, white for 7, brown for 8 and dark blue for 9. Because color and length both change with the number, a child soon recognizes the purple bar as six without counting.
What Students Will Practice
- Counting the beads on a bar and writing the numeral (sheet one, mixed order)
- Learning the bead stair color for each number by coloring the outline bars (sheet two)
- Matching a quantity to its symbol by drawing lines from bars to numerals (sheet three)
- Adding two bead bars and writing totals up to 10 (sheet four), the first step toward the addition snake game
- Seeing that a longer bar means a bigger number
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How to Use These Worksheets
Print at 100% on A4 or US Letter paper. Colored pencils in the nine bead colors are needed for sheet two.
- Sheet one: count the beads. Bars are in mixed order. Have your child touch each bead while counting, then write the number. Ask what color the 5 bar is; by the end they should know without looking.
- Sheet two: color the beads. The outline bars are in order from 1 to 9 with the color name beside each. This is how the color code is learned. Say the number and the color together: “three, pink”.
- Sheet three: match. Draw a line from each bar to its numeral. This is quantity to symbol, the central idea of Montessori early math.
- Sheet four: addition. Two bars side by side. Count all the beads and write the total. If you have real beads, lay the two bars end to end and find the single golden or colored bar that matches the total.
- Use the color chart. The bead colors chart on our Montessori worksheets page can sit beside the child while they work.
Common Mistakes to Watch For
- Coloring in any color: Not a counting error, but the color code is the point of the material. Gently point to the color name on the sheet.
- Counting the same bead twice: Slide a finger along the bar and count each bead once, left to right.
- Guessing from length alone: Useful later, but at first insist on counting to confirm. Guessing 7 for the 8 bar is the common slip.
- Adding by restarting from one: Encourage counting on from the first bar: “four... five, six, seven”.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the Montessori bead stair colors?
1 red, 2 green, 3 pink, 4 yellow, 5 light blue, 6 purple (sometimes called lavender or violet), 7 white, 8 brown, 9 dark blue. Ten is golden. The same colors are used in the teen boards, bead chains and the snake game.
What age is the bead stair for?
Usually 4 to 5, after the number rods and sandpaper numerals and before or alongside the golden beads. Children who can count to 10 and recognize the numerals are ready.
Do I need real bead bars?
They help, and a set is inexpensive, but the worksheets are designed to work on their own. Colored pipe cleaners with pony beads make a good homemade bead stair.
What comes after the bead stair?
The golden beads for place value, and the addition snake game, which uses the colored bars to make tens. Our golden beads worksheets are the next step.
More Montessori Maths
See all the sets on the free Montessori worksheets page. The bead stair follows the number rods worksheets and leads into the golden beads place value worksheets and golden beads counting worksheets. For the same quantities in a standard format, try the ten frame worksheets.
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