Montessori Year Chain / Grimm's Annual order Bead String

This is a silicone bead chain in 12 different colors for teaching the seasons, months, and number of days in a month.

Winter months are in blues (December, January, and February)
Spring months are in greens (March, April, and May)
Summer months are in yellows (June, July, and August)
Fall months are in pinks (September, October, November)

January - Ice
February - Vintage Violet
March - Antique Aubergine
April - Orchid Smoke
May - Mandarin
June - Sunflower
July - Antique Ivory
August - Glass
September - Lichen
October - Antique Moss
November - Prussian Blue
December - Blue Licorice

The chain has 366 silicone 9 mm beads and is 11' long.

Unlike wooden year chains this chain can be washed and can be sterilized.

There is special pricing for this item and coupon codes do not apply to this item. It is already offered at a 20% discount.

Note that the disassembled version includes 35 beads of each color, 15 clasps, and 15 continuous yards of cord and a reusable container. Because it includes more supplies the cost is greater but you have a lot more flexibility.

-- HISTORY OF THE ANNUAL BEAD STRING --

A truly unique way to provide a concrete and comprehensive representation of the concept of the passage of time.

Montessori educators will be familiar with the "Hundred Chain" and "Thousand Chain". These Golden Bead materials are designed to introduce quite advanced and abstract concepts in a concrete manner. By giving children a tangible representation these challenging ideas suddenly become so obvious! By handling these beads each child is also given order the chance to create a tactile memory of these ideas, making the connection to these concepts deeper and more lasting.

The Montessori Year Chain or Annual Chain so harmoniously follows these principles that it is hard to believe it was not designed by Maria Montessori herself!

The Annual Chain provides a concrete representation of the passage of time that occurs over a year.

Each individual bead represents a single day of the year. The beads are divided into twelve different colors, with each color reflecting a month (your child can choose which color to allocate to each month but if you are teaching seasons we recommend grouping them).

Over the course of a year, your child (or your class) adds a single bead to the string each day. This can be done over a calendar year - from January to December - but could also be started at a different milestone (such as your child's birthday). Over the year the Annual Chain grows and at the end of each month the color changes, allowing children to observe a clear representation of the relationship between days, months, and years. By the end of the year, the Chain is full and the child can marvel at the length of a "year" when compared with each individual day.

This delightful project could be repeated year after year and teaches so much more than just the mathematical concept of time. It also teaches patience and self-control as only one bead per day can be added to the string.

You could even personalize the experience by using the Annual Chain as a 'countdown' to special events in your child's life. If you are going on a holiday on the 5th of May you could choose your color for the month of May in advance and then tell your child "When we have 5 maroon beads it will be time for our holiday!"

★ HOLE AND CORD SPECIFICATIONS AND ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS ★
All of our beads have a 2.5 mm hole and work best with 2 mm cord (which we sell, see the link at the bottom of this listing). In order to fit the cord through properly hold a lighter flame to the end of the cut cord for about 1 second then roll it between your fingers to seal it and make it "hard" and no longer able to fray. This melts the fibers together. Then you can thread the cord through the beads or clasps. Once you are done and have your clasps on and you make a double knot, melt the knot a bit and roll it to firm it into a solid ball. That will prevent it from coming apart. View our videos at the link below.

★ VIDEOS ★
Join our Facebook page --- https://www.facebook.com/TeslaBabyLLC/ --- See videos on how to use our products including how to tie a proper knot for elastic bracelets, how to tie proper knots and hide the knot in a bead, how to get the cord through beads single and doubled up, and more. We also announce specials only for our Facebook fans and you get to help us determine our new products and colors.