In this Montessori Math activity, the child uses coloured bead bars to signify quantities: 1 is red, 2 is green, 3 is pink, 4 is yellow, 5 is turquoise, 6 is purple, 7 is white, 8 is brown, 9 is dark blue and 10 is gold. This colour scheme is the basis of the Montessori Math materials and will follow the child as they proceed to more complex Math materials such as the coloured multiplication beads or the skip counting beads. In this activity, the child is shown how to combine the coloured beads by linking them together to form what looks like a snake. Once the snake is complete, the child goes back and starts counting the beads. Every time the child counts to 10, he or she must replace the counted beads with a golden 10 bead bar. Eventually the coloured snake transforms into a golden one, reinforcing the different combinations that make 10.
