Hey, if you have a crafty child, you might even end up needing to buy more beads. I thought we had a huge supply, especially after buying a couple of 400-packs of pony beads at the dollar store, but DD6 has gone through an amazing quantity of them in a day of frenzied bead-animal-making.
Anyway, I think I've solved our math manipulative dilemma in a way that's completely different way from what I was considering. La Texican, it was your post about making the beads yourself that made me think of it. Here's the plan:
We already have a bunch of the standard Montessori bead chains. If I just hook a large metal split ring (the kind used for key rings) onto the end of each of the smaller chains, then they're no longer a major choking hazard. They're also much less likely to roll under the furniture and get lost. And we could use the big rings to hang them on a peg rack on the wall for storage. I could paint each peg the appropriate color, and even the most uncoordinated and non-math-adept munchkins could have a go at matching them up.
They're still not something I'd want the little guy chewing on, but if he happens to get hold of them, no big deal.
So that's a huge relief. The older ones can go back to using their beloved math beads, without too much investment of time or effort on my part.
Just for fun, I think I might still do one set each of the ping-pong "golden beads" and the cardboard "colored bead stair." I think they'd make a very effective first presentation for slightly older toddlers.
