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Mackfam
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| Posted: Jan 29 2008 at 2:47pm | IP Logged
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I have searched all of my stomping grounds on-line, and I'm coming up short. I'm just looking for a little more guidance with these. I have the 100 and 1000 chain and my son loves them. I am considering a purchase of the short bead chains because of his great interest in this right now. I bought the printed arrows for the complete bead material and we've been using it some, but I feel like I'm missing something. Don't laugh  I know they're pretty self-explanatory!
My questions:
1. Does anyone know of a site that explains which arrows go with which bead chain? I just can't find anything. I have what seems like a million arrows, and I feel a bit un-organized not knowing which arrows belong in which box, that can be used with which set of bead chains. And my son is chomping at the bit!
2. Do any of you have the *complete* set of bead materials including the short chains? I was wondering if my decanomial box beads could do double duty here instead of ordering the short bead chain set? I know the beads from the decanomial box wouldn't be linked together - we'd just have to line them up on a mat. Would it be too much? Would it just be better to spend the $25 to get the short bead chain set?
Any insight you could give me with the bead chains and arrows would be so much appreciated! Right now, we're just using the arrows that are straight forward - like counting by 5's, 10's, and 100's. But my son really wants to do more, and I'm not sure how to set them up for him! 
Anybody using these?
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Jen Mackintosh
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montessori_lori
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If I were you, I would definitely purchase the short bead chains rather than just using bead bars. All those bead bars rolling around on the rug would be annoying!
As to which arrows to use with which chains, first start with color. Red arrow with the 1-bead bar, green arrows with two-bead bars, etc.
The smaller sets of arrows go with the shorter chains. For instance, the peach arrows for 3-beads: 3, 6, 9, go with the short chains and correspond to the square of the number 3. The arrows 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27 go with the long 3 chain, and correspond with the cube of the number 3.
I find it helpful to think of the short chains as "square chains" and the long chains as "cube chains". Divide up the arrows into square or cube sets, rubberband each individual set, and then bag them up in separate baggies and label them so you never have to wonder again =)
If your son is ready, introduce the idea of squares and cubes and have him write the corresponding equations: 3 x 3 = 9, which is the same as 3 squared (with the tiny 2) = 9. Then, he can write the equations for the cube chains: 3 x 3 x 3 = 27, which is the same as 3 cubed (with the tiny 3) = 27.
While the chains can definitely be used for skip counting (which is basically the memorization of the multiplication tables), I really like them for square and cube work as well.
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Jan 29 2008 at 4:22pm | IP Logged
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montessori_lori wrote:
| If I were you, I would definitely purchase the short bead chains rather than just using bead bars. All those bead bars rolling around on the rug would be annoying! |
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Right - that does sound like a good idea. I can't find the long bead chains - other than the ones in the complete bead material set. Any ideas where I might look?
montessori_lori wrote:
| As to which arrows to use with which chains, first start with color. Red arrow with the 1-bead bar, green arrows with two-bead bars, etc. |
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ok
montessori_lori wrote:
| The smaller sets of arrows go with the shorter chains. For instance, the peach arrows for 3-beads: 3, 6, 9, go with the short chains and correspond to the square of the number 3. The arrows 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27 go with the long 3 chain, and correspond with the cube of the number 3. |
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A-ha! Ok - this is making more sense now!
montessori_lori wrote:
| I find it helpful to think of the short chains as "square chains" and the long chains as "cube chains". Divide up the arrows into square or cube sets, rubberband each individual set, and then bag them up in separate baggies and label them so you never have to wonder again =) |
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So you use baggies and rubber bands? I was really getting frustrated with the little plastic boxes that came with my arrows. And so was my son! It's hard to get those little plastic suckers out of there! I was considering using something else to keep them separated.
montessori_lori wrote:
If your son is ready, introduce the idea of squares and cubes and have him write the corresponding equations: 3 x 3 = 9, which is the same as 3 squared (with the tiny 2) = 9. Then, he can write the equations for the cube chains: 3 x 3 x 3 = 27, which is the same as 3 cubed (with the tiny 3) = 27.
While the chains can definitely be used for skip counting (which is basically the memorization of the multiplication tables), I really like them for square and cube work as well. |
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Yes, he's just about ready for this. He seems to be moving at the speed of light right now! And I'm the one having a hard time keeping up! Thank you, Lori, this has been very helpful for me!
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Jen Mackintosh
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montessori_lori
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| Posted: Jan 29 2008 at 6:08pm | IP Logged
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Glad to help!
I only have the short (square) chains, not the long ones. They are pricey, especially if you get the cabinet to go with them:
Bead Cabinet Materials (the cabinet is extra)
One option is to make them - Suzanne at JMJ Publishing has photos and suggestions for finding the right bead colors for those. And if you know someone handy, they could make the cabinet for you. Here's what Suzanne says:
"We made all our short (square) chains and long (cube chains) out of 48" neon shoestrings and pony beads... Square chains with green shoestrings and Cube chains with pink shoestrings (to match the control chart).
Hundred chain is (9) green beads for the units and then (1) blue bead for the 10s, repeat 10 times except that the 100th bead is red. Rather than the traditional golden bead chain for hundreds and thousands, we have a chain that matches the color coding of the Numeral Cards. Thousand Chain is 10 Hundred Chains tied together. [Note from Lori: I personally prefer the golden beads for the hundreds and thousands).
We made our Square and Cube Chains with the appropriate number of beads, for example the Square of Five Chain is made with 5 light blue pony beads, then a knot in the shoestring, continue with 5 beads then a knot, until you have 25 beads or the square of 5 which is (5x5) or 52. The Cube of Five Chain is made the same way (planning your knots to attach another shoestring when necessary). The Cube of Five Chain has a total of 125 beads - (5x5x5) or 53."
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Jan 29 2008 at 8:30pm | IP Logged
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Thanks so much Lori! This was a big help! I have been looking into JMJ's site a good bit this week, especially her math, chains, and arrows. It is good to know that if I need or want to pursue the long chains, I should probably just make them.
I'm not really interested in the cabinet, but if I found the long (cube) chains I'd have to look seriously!
Thanks again! This was a really big help and clarification for me. 
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Jen Mackintosh
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lapazfarm
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I have the short chains and dd is just beginning to use them (though she has been using the 100 chain for quite awhile). She finds them interesting, but I think she'd like them better if I had it set up for her to make the little booklets for them-she is very into copying down words and numbers right now. I am thinking of making up some booklets, and I will post them here when I do.
I also have the squares and I am thinking of making booklets for those as well.
I don't have the long chains and I really don't see getting them. Honestly, I am thinking that by the time she is ready for the concept of cubing, we will be beyond the need for a concrete representation and go straight to abstraction.I know, not very Montessori of me, but I have taught enough math to know where the leaps to abstraction tend to happen. If it happens that she does need a concrete example, we can use the golden beads for an example of what "cubed" means and go from there.
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Theresa
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Mackfam
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Theresa,
What sort of little books will you make? Do you just mean having her write the equation she is representing with her chains? Sorry, you may not have thought this far ahead yet if she's just now getting into the short chains.
My ds is *not* a writer, so I haven't pushed making little booklets at all. But...I'd like him to have a compilation of his work. He's just started getting excited about making a set of booklets on the 50 states. And he really does need to practice some writing...it's just one of those dilemmas...do I decide to push or not. Haven't decided yet. He has just been so involved and immersed in his other work, I haven't wanted to yet.
Specifically, what will you use to make the booklets? Are you going to use inset paper, or cut your own? Lillard talks about 3/4 inch graph paper to be used I think so that each number has a square. I was thinking of googling that to see if I could find any. Did you ever get that specialized marker paper you referenced on another thread?
Glad you jumped in here too! I totally forgot about my booklet questions until you mentioned them.
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Jen Mackintosh
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lapazfarm
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I was thinking of little booklets with the equations already in them and she could just count and fill in the answers.Then later as she gets more proficient she could write the equations herself.
I went ahead and made some here:short bead chain and squares booklets
you just cut them into strips and staple them together into booklets. I was thinking of using the correct colored paper for covers.
And I went ahead and added the squares equations so that they could be included in the short chain booklets or as a separate booklet.You just have to do a little extra cutting and pasting with the even numbered squares.
It's kind of hard to explain, so just let me know if I need to clarify.
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Theresa
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Mamamoon
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| Posted: Jan 29 2008 at 11:52pm | IP Logged
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just wanted to thank you for this little chat, it has been helpful, as i have the short chains and the decanomial as well and have been wanting to do more with them....for now dd grabs the short chains and does her skip counting with the arrows, which i have in a tackle box by the way, and when she wants to go past what is on the short chain, she grabs them from the decanomial to add on.
have a good night!
lisa
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Jan 30 2008 at 7:31am | IP Logged
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These were great! Thank you so much for sharing them Theresa! I downloaded them last night, and I'm going to print them up today. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to color coordinate my paper and my beads, but it does make sense doesn't it?
I am also brainstorming ways/ideas for storage of the little arrows. Lisa mentioned she uses a tackle box, Lori mentioned rubber bands and baggies. What do you use Theresa? Anybody else out there organize them differently? My ds is...well...very clumsy in addition to the normal fine motor skill lag in a little guy.  The little plastic boxes they came in are not cutting it - and besides my kids are chomping at the bit to have them as specimen cases for the nature shelf! I even have a hard time getting the little arrows out of them! I thought about those paper library pockets - I have seen them in solid colors at my local school supply store. I'd have to see if I could get them in the variety of colors I need to coordinate with the short chains. But, they allow for a few fingers to slide down and remove the arrows. Anybody got any other storage ideas?
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Jen Mackintosh
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montessori_lori
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Theresa, when I click on the short bead chain and squares booklet, I get an error message. I was looking forward to seeing your booklets!
Sorry I wasn't more clear - I only keep them in baggies when not using them. Otherwise, I put them out with the beads - I have the short bead chains in a divided wooden box (like the bead bars are in), and I just put each arrow set right in the box with the correct bead chain.
For the long chains, the typical way of displaying them is using clear plastic containers that match the color of the arrow. That way you can see which arrows are which. You can find those at the Container Store, or from Montessori companies; here's an example of the clear boxes (no colors), but I've often seen the colored ones used:
Printed Arrows and Boxes
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lapazfarm
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Lori, I am not sure what the problem might be. I just tried it again and it seems to be working fine. Can you try it again and see?
Jennifer, I have them in the little boxes, but I agree they are fiddly to use. What I have been doing is when dd wants to use them, she takes the set out of the box and lays them in a little wooden box top. It makes them easier to use.
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lapazfarm
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I think it was Katherine (of Serendipity) who had hers in little glass cookie-jar type containers. I thought it was so cute. Not sure if she still has the picture up on her blog.
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AndreaG
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Another extension of the short bead chains that I read somewhere and have been meaning to do with my kids is to make shapes with them- so 3 chain would be a triangle, 4 chain a square, 5 a pentagon etc.
We use the plastic boxes too, and honestly don't use our chains as much as we should b/c I get frustrated with all those little flags! I made all my chains (long and short) and printed the flags from JMJ publishing. It was cheaper that way, but the longer chains aren't as sturdy as I would like.
Theresa- thanks for sharing your booklets, I'm going to check those out.
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montessori_lori
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Nope, still getting a "connection was reset/unable to find page" message. Do you have to be logged in to box.net to see it?
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happymama
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Just one thought on the little plastic boxes - I got the squaring chains from Alison's here that came with the squares and the hanging frame. So, the beads are hanging on the wall in the classroom, and the little boxes sit on the shelf above them.
When it's time to use one, ds picks a chain & a box & the square. He dumps out all of the arrows from the box and puts them in order on his work rug, and then starts counting beads and using the arrows to point out the multiples. My point is, he's not picking them out of the box one at a time. We haven't had any trouble with the boxes. (They would make great specimin boxes, though!)
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lapazfarm
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montessori_lori wrote:
| Nope, still getting a "connection was reset/unable to find page" message. Do you have to be logged in to box.net to see it? |
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Hmmm. I don't know, Lori. Anyone else having trouble opening the file?
I'd be glad to email it to you, Lori. Just PM me with your email addy.
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Theresa
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Andrea, I love your extension idea! definitely going to try that one soon!
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Mackfam
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I opened and downloaded just fine last night. Hold on...lemme go try again...still works - I downloaded and opened the Windows doc just fine???? Maybe an issue with your computer config Lori?
Thanks for the extension idea as well Andrea. I'm going to order the short chains very soon, and try to figure out some way of organizing all these arrows. If nothing else, I'll just use a wooden tray and part of the work will be ordering the flags on the tray before the bead chain is layed out.
Thank you so much everyone! This has been extremely helpful for me!
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Jen Mackintosh
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4Real Forums : Nurturing the Years of Wonder
Topic: Arrows and Bead Chain Material
