Bead Village — Lesson 6: Any number, 0 to 9

What your child does, card by card

Any number, 0 to 9. Practice day! PlayBuddy opens the lesson: “Practice time. Let's get quicker and better.”

First a reminder (“Zero to nine”): the beads build 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, ring by ring, while your child watches. Bottom beads count 1 to 4. The top bead is 5.

Try it: your child makes 3 and 8, with a green ring on the next bead to move, changing the beads from one number to the next.

Ten beads to go: a mission of 10 tasks with a bead jar that fills with every right answer. Your child must make 7, make 2, make 9, read 8, make 4, read 3, make 6, read 5, make 1 and clear the abacus. For the read tasks the beads hold still and three numbers wait below; one of them is right.

Copy me both ways: first the drawn hands show 6 and 9 and your child makes each on the beads; then the beads show 7 and 4 and your child answers by tapping the drawn fingers, the hands window glowing.

In your head: the beads flash 8, 3 and 6, one at a time, for 1.2 seconds each and hide; your child shows each number on the drawn fingers, then sees the beads again.

Jar full! You know every number from 0 to 9.

What this lesson trains

19 answers in about five minutes. The tasks take 18 bead moves in all: 9 with a top bead and 9 with bottom beads. Clearing comes up once. 9 is the top number here. Then 3 quick looks in your head.

The first thing your child does: make 3 and 8.

Fingers and hands

Below the abacus the drawn hands show zero and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 here, finger for bead.

Copy me runs both ways for the first time: the hand leads, then the beads lead and the fingers answer.

What PlayBuddy and PlayType say

PlayBuddy: “Practice time. Let's get quicker and better.”

PlayBuddy: “Click Let's Begin, or press Enter!”

PlayType: “Now watch the beads closely.”

PlayBuddy: “Look at the beads and read the number.”

Stars

With 1 or fewer slips across the 19 answers your child earns three stars; 4 or fewer, two.