Abacus

My 4-year-old actually sits still with this thing, sliding the wooden beads back and forth to count past ten on her own. The rows of ten make the tens concept click without me explaining anything.

The rows of ten wooden beads finally made place value click for my daughter — she slides them across and actually sees a full ten before regrouping. Sturdy little thing too, the beads don't wobble on the rods even after weeks of daily use.

My 5-year-old figured out adding to ten on her own just by sliding the wooden beads across. The build feels sturdy enough that I'm not worried about it surviving her little brother.