The mat is spread on the floor. The unit, the ten bar, the hundred and thousand chains are laid out parallel to each other. The thousand chain is far too long for the mat and extends right down the classroom. Its length is most impressive. The children gain an understanding of the relative value of the quantities.
Most children enjoy counting when they first realize their ability to do so.
These children will want to count the chains. They may like to have the small number cards to place against every tenth bead of the hundred chain and the thousand chain. If a child does not wish to use the number cards when counting the chains he does not need to do so.