Rekenrek

The free interactive rekenreks are made for exploring and playing with numbers. Children can move the beads, build different numbers, count, and see what changes when they move beads back and forth.

Parents can join in by asking simple questions such as “What do you see?”, “How many did you move?”, or “How did you know?”

There is no set lesson to follow. Children can simply explore the rekenrek at their own pace and discover how numbers work together.

Groups of five are easier for children to recognize than a long row of individual beads. Instead of counting every bead one by one, children gradually begin to see five as a familiar group.

Groups of five also connect naturally to the five fingers on one hand, giving children another familiar way to think about numbers.

Once they recognize five, they can build on it. For example, instead of counting seven beads, they begin to see “five and two.” This helps children recognize patterns, build number sense, and see how numbers work together.

On a rekenrek, the beads are moved from right to left, bringing the number into view on the left. This makes it easier to recognize groups and notice patterns.

Although they may look similar, a rekenrek and an abacus are designed with different learning goals in mind.

A traditional rekenrek has two rows of ten beads and is designed to help children develop number sense by recognizing groups, patterns, and relationships between numbers before memorizing math facts.

Many abacuses use rows of ten beads and are commonly used for working with larger numbers and place value calculations.

Christian Kiddo also uses a 100-bead rekenrek that keeps the familiar groups of five while extending the same visual structure to larger numbers. From 1–50, the beads follow a five red, five white pattern. From 51–100, the colors reverse to five white, five red, creating a clear visual boundary between numbers below and above 50.

The free interactive rekenreks are open-ended tools that children can use to move beads, build numbers, and explore freely.

Inside the Christian Kiddo 123s Bundle, the rekenreks are used in guided interactive exercises with clear audio prompts, structured practice, and parent settings that allow families to choose what their child needs to work on.

The ABCs + 123s Refresh Bundle revisits these rekenrek skills and adds extra practice and new challenges for children who are ready to go further, including with the 20-bead and 100-bead rekenreks.

The free rekenreks can be used on their own for exploration or alongside either bundle for additional practice.

No. The free interactive rekenreks are designed to help children explore number relationships digitally. If you also have a physical rekenrek, you can easily use both.