I hear and I forget.

I see and I remember.

I do and I understand.

-- Confucius

One of our school age friends was having some trouble with math facts and as I looked at the homework and the number grid she was given to complete her work with I realized that math has gotten so complicated for little ones! Why oh why must we insist on drilling facts into little heads when they don't understand the reason behind the facts?
Anyway, I was determined to find a way to show her (and all of our friends!) math through real life experiences rather than just a pen and paper. This is a traditional Waldorf multiplication board. It teaches the children to count by 2's and 3's (and more that we haven't gotten into yet) while making math fun, and beautiful at the same time! This is the very beginning of addition and multiplication. We set this in the garden with beautiful yarn and let anyone have at it any time they'd like to. The younger children can use this simply to practice their hand eye coordination and a bit of counting along the way, but the older children can do so much more with it.
AND IT'S FUN!
Much more fun than a worksheet!

If you're interested in learning about the difference between mainstream math seen in the public schools and waldorf school math check out this the article by Nan C Avery

"Waldorf techniques for mastering math facts with body movements that any teacher can use".