Cuisenaire rods are a simple, yet ingenious, tool for teaching mathematical relationships to young children. More often used in Europe than the United States, they were first developed by Belgian teacher Georges Cuisenaire in the 1940s. The rectangular wooden blocks come in 10 different colors and 10 different lengths. Manipulating them helps students visualize what would otherwise be abstract math concepts and can lead them to a fuller understanding of the calculations used in arithmetic, measurement and geometry.
