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Homeschool Montessori

Number Rods

Number rods are ten wooden rods, 10 cm to 1 m long, painted in alternating red and blue 10 cm sections, so a child of 3.5 to 5 can hold "seven" as one object. Sets cost $63.90 to $204.30 at three US sellers on October 2, 2026. We'd buy: each rod gets checked against the others.

By Owen WrenLast updated

The first lesson with it is Number Rods. Not sure your child is ready for it? Two minutes of questions place your child on the sequence.

At a glance
AreaMath
Used in
From age3.5 to 5 years
Make itHard to make accurately
Buy itAbout $64 to $204 (noted )
Illustration: the Montessori number rods, ten wooden rods in alternating red and blue segments, laid out from shortest to longest on a linen mat.
IllustrationThe number rods laid out from shortest to longest, in alternating red and blue segments.
Illustration: the number rods drawn to scale, ten rods from 10 cm to 1 meter, each divided into 10 cm sections that alternate red and blue, arranged as a stair.Longest rod: 1 m, ten sections of 10 cm
IllustrationDrawn to scale: ten rods, 10 cm to 1 m, red and blue every 10 cm.
Montessori number rods, a diagram of the ten rods counted 1 to 10, Fig. 40 in Dr. Montessori's Own Handbook, 1914
From Dr. Montessori's Own Handbook (1914)Fig. 40, a diagram of the use of the numerical rods, as printed in Dr. Montessori's Own Handbook (1914). Public domain.

What the number rods are for

The rods join two things a child already knows: length, from the long rods of Sensorial, and counting. Montessori used one set of ten rods for both, a decimetre to a metre, with the sections painted red and blue in turn. The child counts the sections and names each rod by its count.

What you buy is a set of exact lengths. Lay rod 3 beside rods 1 and 2 end to end and they match; 4 and 6 together match 10. That checking is the arithmetic, and it fails quietly if a homemade rod runs a few millimetres long.

Parts of the number rods
PartWhat it looks like
RodsTen: 10, 20, 30 and so on up to 100 cm
Sections10 cm each, red and blue in turn
Cross-sectionSquare and the same on every rod: 2.5 cm on Montessori Outlet's set, 4 cm in the 1914 Handbook
Floor spaceA rug about 1.2 m long for the laid-out stair
Numeral cardsUsually sold separately, for the later lesson that matches figures to rods

The lessons that use the number rods

  • Number Rods

    3.5 to 5 years

    Ten red-and-blue segmented rods, from 10 cm to 1 meter, that let a child see, carry and count quantities one to ten as single objects.

Buying one: 4 listings checked October 2, 2026

Prices checked October 2, 2026
Seller and setMade ofPrice
Alison's MontessoriBlue and Red Number Rods (M01)Sale price; regular $71.00. Made in Thailand.Wood$63.90
Montessori OutletNumerical Rods (510500010)2.5 cm square section. Market price shown $200.30. In stock.Solid wood$64.95
NienhuisNumber Rods (002700)US store price.Maple$204.30
The Montessori RoomGAM Number Rods (1MM080)Canadian store. Made by GAM (Gonzagarredi); printed numerals sold separately.Wood$229.99 CAD
Prices read on each seller's page on , before shipping and tax. They change often; check the seller's page before you buy. None of these links earn us anything.
  • We'd buy them. Cutting ten rods to the millimetre and painting 55 sections with clean edges is a long job, and the child's checking depends on it.
  • Plan the space before the price. The longest rod is a metre, the laid-out stair needs a rug about 1.2 m long, and the set needs a long shelf or box.
  • Small tabletop versions exist. This table lists full-size sets only, because a metre-long ten in a small child's arms is part of the lesson.
  • Montessori Services and Adena had no readable number rods page, and Kid Advance's would not load for us.

Keeping a full set on the shelf

  • Store the rods flat, longest at the bottom, or upright in a rack. A metre rod leaned against a wall for months can bow.
  • Carry rods one at a time, level and close to the body. A swung metre rod reaches faces.
  • Touch up chipped paint at the section lines. A smudged boundary makes a section hard to count.

Questions parents ask about the number rods

What is the order of math lessons in Montessori?

Quantities 1 to 10 first, with the number rods, then their numerals, then the decimal system with the golden beads, then sums with the beads and the stamp game. On this site the rods follow the brown stair and come before the golden beads.

What is the difference between number rods and red rods?

The red rods are the same ten lengths in plain red, used in Sensorial to judge length. Number rods add the red and blue sections so each length can be counted. Montessori's 1914 Handbook says the rods may be plain green or painted red and blue in turn.

Do we need the full-size rods?

For the first lessons, yes, if you have the floor. A metre rod carried in both arms is what makes ten feel big. Small sets fit on a table but lose that.

Before the number rods, make sure the work before it is solid. The brown stair (broad stair) lesson lists the signs that a child is ready to move on.