Counting is a big deal for little ones. Learning to count starts early. Most babies become familiar with the sounds of counting long before they understand what numbers are. Singing counting songs and repeating counting rhymes can help cement the order of numbers in your child’s mind. However, you want to go one step further and begin to teach your child what numbers mean and how they relate to each other. These activities are designed to teach your child about number order and prepare them for the wonderful world of addition and subtraction.
Counting Books
There are literally dozens of number books on the market for babies and toddlers. Many of them are wonderful. Personally, I find Eric Carl’s My First Book of Numbers and Danica McKellar’s Goodnight Numbers to be fantastic. But you aren’t limited to purchased books for your child. You can make your own.
Simply start with a picture of your child. Print it on a page with the numeral one and your child’s name. If your child’s name is Danielle, you would write the words “One Danielle.” Then move on to the numeral two. “Two parents” works well. If your child doesn’t have two parents, then look for another pair of people that are important in your child’s life. Continue with a picture of three things. Consider special toys, pets or other recognizable items. Keep taking pictures of important or recognizable things from around the house for your child. Start with the numbers one through ten. Print the pages out and put them in plastic page protectors in a three-ring notebook. You and your child can read your special counting book and talk about the things you see in the book.
As your child matures, add more pages to the notebook. You can add pages that count to fifteen or twenty. Then, when your child is comfortable with those pages, start counting down, until your child’s book ends with her picture once again.
Number Lines
Number lines are nothing more than regularly spaced numbers in a line. You can write a number line along a sheet of paper. Voila! You have a number line. That sheet of paper too small? Then write each number in a separate block of the sidewalk and you can make a number line that stretches around the block. Worried that your child can’t read your writing? No problem. Just grab a ruler or a yard stick and you have a number line. There are plenty of ways to make or play with number lines.
The important thing is what you do with a number line. The great thing about number lines is that it lets you “walk” through number order. You can start with the number one, and walk, with fingers or with feet, depending on the size of your number line, through number order. Be sure to model touching each number as you say the name.
Once your child has become comfortable with naming the numbers in order, try starting with a number other than one. For example, ask your child to put his finger on the number five and count from there. This is called “counting on,” and is a critical skill for addition. You can suggest this skill in a very simple way. Ask your child to find a number on the number line. For this example, we will use the number six. Then ask her to go two more numbers along the line. Jump her finger twice, once on the seven and then on the eight and stop. Praise her and say something like: “That’s right, eight is two more than six.”
Counting Around
Numbers don’t just live in books and on lines, they exist all around your child. Point this out whenever you can. When you are eating lunch, ask your child how many crackers he wants, then count them out with him. While you are cooking, show your child the recipe and count out the number of teaspoons or cups of ingredients. When you are driving or riding the bus, count the number of people you see wearing hats, or walking dogs, or listening to music. Count out the number of apples you add to your grocery cart. Count the number of cars that drive past the window.
As your child grows comfortable with the order of numbers, be sure to move on, adding other number concepts. Include your child in counting items at the grocery. Grabbing a bunch of bananas? Great. Go ahead and count how many bananas are in different bunches. But don’t just stop with listing the order. Talk to your child about how many people in your household eat bananas. For example, lets pretend you have six people in your family. If you pick up a bunch of bananas that have only five individual fruit, ask your child if there are enough pieces of fruit for everyone in the family. Figure out how many more bananas you would need to buy in order to make sure everyone in the family gets a banana.
Counting Puzzles
Like books, there are a lot of wooden counting puzzles on the market. One of the best is Melissa and Doug’s Self Correcting Wooden Number Puzzles. These little puzzles have a number on one side and the correct number of items on the other side. The two sides fit together in the middle, but only when the numbers match. If, for example, your child tries to match the piece with the number five with the piece that has six pictures, the pieces won’t fit.
You can make your own self-correcting puzzles with three by five cards and stickers. Just write the number on the right side of the card and put the correct number of stickers on the left-hand side of the card. Then cut the card down the middle. Use different patterns for different numbers. For example you can use a wavy cut for the number five and a large zig zag for the number six. Another fun and simple puzzle is to write the numbers in order on a piece of construction paper. Cut the paper apart so that each number is its own piece.
By playing with your child’s counting skills, you can give them skills that they will be able to count on for years to come.