← Beads Before Numbers · Lesson 1 of 3
The oldest counting machine
Long before written sums, people counted with pebbles on a board and beads on rods. Counting boards were used in ancient Greece and Rome; bead frames have been used in China, Japan and Russia for centuries.
What they share is the idea children now meet in school as hands, then pictures, then symbols: you move a thing, you see a pattern, and only then you write a number.
Nothing in this course is about exercising your mind. It is about how a beautiful machine works, and about the pleasure of teaching it to someone.
What do counting boards and bead frames have in common with how children learn number now?
A lesson is kept once you've answered the question and written at least 8 words. Nobody grades it; it stays on this device.