Today’s post is on how to make your own Montessori Golden Thousand Cube for teaching Mathematics.
To let the child visualise quantities of 1,000 to 9,000, the Montessori Decimal System (Golden Beads) Complete Layout requires 45 Golden Thousand Cubes. Over here in Malaysia, each cube costs RM100+ (!!!), so there’s no way we’d buy 45 of them unless we’re running a preschool.
A Golden Thousand Cube made with acrylic looks like this:
The wooden alternative looks like this:
To save money, I decided to make our own thousand cubes. I found Karen Tyler’s printable too small, so I created my own template, which looks like this:
(The above is only a screen shot, please refer to the bottom of this post for the download link.)
Each page can be used to make 6 Golden Hundred Squares or 1 Golden Thousand Cube. (Instructions are provided on page 2 of the printable.)
Each side is 3.54″ or 9cm, the size of the corresponding materials in my complete beads cabinet.
Since I’ve bought 45 Wooden Hundred Squares to represent the beads, I only had to make the Thousand Cubes. There’re 2 methods to make the cubes:
Method #1
- Print the template
- Laminate the page
- Cut out the squares (It’s difficult to fold laminated sheets accurately, that’s why you’ll need to cut out the squares.)
- Use adhesive tape to tape the squares into a cube
Method #2
This applies if you have a rotary paper trimmer (such as rexel SmartCut A425) that can create folding lines.
I couldn’t find my Rexel on Amazon, so here’s something similar. Look for a trimmer with a scoring blade to make folding lines.
- Print the template
- Laminate the page
- Cut out 4 squares forming an “L” shape, leaving 2 connected squares
- Use the trimmer to create folding lines along the guiding lines provided
- Fold along the lines
- Use adhesive tape to tape the pieces into a cube (as shown below)
After days of hard work, I finally completed the 45 Thousand Cubes during my confinement. Taa daa…
If you’re short of time, you may make 9 cubes instead of 45 for an alternative presentation.
Download the template here:
Montessori Mathematics Golden Hundred Square and Golden Thousand Cube (PDF, 122kb)
P.S. Download other Montessori printables at our Resources page here.
Hi, thanks for sharing, I have found your website to be very helpful. Could you kindly share how do I use this to teach my kids.
Thanks
Hi Jaclyn, thank you for dropping by! Montessori bead materials is a big topic.
In a gist: it uses smalls beads (or representations) to let children learn about quantity in a concrete manner.
Start from 1 to 9 beads, golden ten bar (10 beads linked up), gradually to this golden thousand cube (1000 beads linked up).
By knowing quantity, the child can learn to do math operations more easily.
E.g. Show a Golden Hundred Square, say “This is 100”.
Show 2 squares, say “This is 200”.
Continue until 10 squares, “This is 1000”.
Compare with Golden Thousand Cube to show that they are the same number of beads.
You may refer to Karen Tyler’s Montessori Math Album at http://khtmontessori.com for details.
CAN YOU GET VERY BASIC WITH ME WITH AN EXPLNATION PLEASE. IF I UNDERSTAND THIS CUBE IS 100×100=1000. BUT I DON’T GET HOW THIS COMES ABOUT TO COMMUNICATE THIS. WHAT IS THE PROCESS?
Hi Glenda, you’d need to cut and fold the laminated cube, then let the child imagine that the inside is filled with beads.
The pictures only show the side of 100-beads. If you refer to the picture of the original thousand cube made from acrylic, each side also shows 100 beads.
Anyway, 10 x 100 = 1000, instead of 100 x 100.
Hope this helps.
what is a thousand cube? how does it figure to be a thousand?
The original Montessori thousand cube consists of 1000 beads linked up together, to represent the quantity 1000. (Refer to picture of the cube in the article). Because each cube is costly (RM100+ over where I live), I only buy one and make more representations of the cube using laminated paper.
Once the child understands that this DIY cube is the same as the original 1000-cube, he can work with large quantities. For example, collect 6 cubes when he needs to work with 6000.
This is just what I was looking for! Thank you so much!
Hi, thanks for sharing, I have found your website to be very helpful. do you use plywood to bulid the cube?
thanks
Hi siwi, I print the pdf on A4 paper, laminate, fold and tape. No wood used.
We have a set of Wooden Hundred Squares, which works well and has a good feel. So it’s a great idea to make Wooden Hundred Cubes, just that they may be quite heavy for a young child.
This is brilliant. Thank you
You’re welcome, Clare.