Counting with kids
Early Math Play — Counting With Kids
10 Math + Water Play ActivitiesThe weather is getting warmer and that means one thing: my children can now be entertained for hours with outdoor water play!! Here are 10 math and water play activities perfect for your little one!
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Building Number Sense, Learning to Count, Outside PlayNeily Boydwater play, preschool water play, preschool math, preschool, preschool outdoor activities, outdoor math, outdoor preschool play, outdoor math activities, outdoor play, counting, counting with kids, early math, early childhood math, early childhood, early childhood play, early math activities, early childhood outdoor play, math for kindergarten, math for preschool
Roll & Circle: A Simple Subitizing GameWhen I saw this simple roll and circle game, I knew it would be a perfect way to practice subitizing with my five-year-old son. Even better—it couldn’t be easier to set up! I printed off this sheet of dot paper, grabbed some dice and markers, and we were ready to roll!
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Building Number Sense, Learning to Count, Rainy Day PlayNeily Boydsubitize, subitizing, early childhood math, early math, dice games, roll and circle, preschool math, preschool time, early math activities, early childhood, counting, counting with kids, activities to teach math at home, hands-on math, hands-on math at home
Glow Stick MathGlow sticks make a wonderful rainy day toy! I pull them out and my kids are immediately ready to engage in independent play! They’re also a great toy to use for simple math talks. Check out 5 ways here.
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Geometry (Shapes), Math at Home, Rainy Day Play, Learning to CountNeily Boydcounting, counting with kids, glow stick math, glow stick shapes, glow stick, glow stick counting, preschool math, preschool, math for kindergarten, math for preschool, early childhood, early childhood play, early math, early math activities, early childhood math
The Disappearing Number LineA favorite outdoor activity of ours is playing the disappearing number line.
My son LOVES getting to spray the chalk away AND he’s building a ton of number sense by thinking about the relationships between numbers on the number line.
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Building Number Sense, Outside PlayNeily Boydoutdoor play, outdoor preschool play, outdoor math, outdoor math activities, water play, preschool water play, preschool math, preschool, early math, early math activities, early childhood math, early childhood, early childhood outdoor play, early childhood play
Number Line HopNumber Line Hop is one of our favorite rainy day activities because it gets my kiddos moving indoors and, no matter how they choose to play, they’re getting exposed to some BIG number sense concepts. My kiddos think we’re just hopping around in the kitchen, but what I know is we’re planting all kinds of number relationships seeds as they physically move up and back on a number line..jpg){kind=icon}
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Building Number Sense, Rainy Day PlayNeily Boyd
Making Sets of More, Less, & the SameMaking sets of more, less, and the same is one of those powerhouse activities that SEEMS simple but is actually building HUGE number sense. Why?? Read on…
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Building Number Sense, Rainy Day PlayNeily Boyd
Coordinate Grid SnacktivityThis fun snacktivity is the perfect way to introduce coordinate pairs while also encouraging your child to eat a healthy snack.
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Graphs, Rainy Day PlayNeily Boyd
8 Ways to Use Crayon Pieces for MathIs your house full to the brim with crayons? If you’re like me and find those little crayon pieces in seemingly every nook and cranny of your house, then you’re in the right place!
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Learning to Count, Math at Home, Rainy Day PlayNeily Boyd
My Favorite Early Math Tool to Incorporate into PlayThere are so many objects that naturally inspire mathematical thinking, such as blocks, play dough, linking toys, puzzles, and containers.
In addition to these toys, I have one extra trick I like to add in when my children are playing—a ten frame!
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Neily Boyd
16 Ways to Use Easter Eggs for MathIf Easter is a holiday your family celebrates and you’ve got some plastic Easter eggs lying around, then take a look at this list of ways to incorporate math into play with Easter eggs.
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Math at Home, Holiday MathNeily BoydEaster eggs, easter egg activitie, easter egg math, preschool easter eggs, math for kindergarten, kindergarten math, kindergarten easter activitiy, preschool easter activitiy, preschool math, preschool easter, kindergarten easter, early, early childhood easter, early childhood math
10 At-Home Math Activities (5 Levels for Each)Ten free math activities.
Each are one setup with 5 versions for 5 age levels: toddler, pre-K, kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade. If you’ve got multiple children at home, this means you can do just one setup and still get everyone involved! All activities are screen-free, hands-on, and FUN!
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Math at HomeNeily Boydearly math, teach math at home, hands-on math, hands-on math at home, screen-free math, math for preschool, math for kindergarten, math for 1st grade, math for 2nd grade, activities to teach math at home, coronavirus math, common core math activities
Snowman Mystery ButtonsThere are no real snowmen in our foreseeable future, but these number sense snowmen will tide us over for now! This simple game is such a FUN way to talk about number relationships within 10!
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Building Number Sense, Math at HomeNeily Boyd
New Year's Confetti PoppersBuild the important number sense skill of knowing one more and one less through this fun New Year’s activity.
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Building Number SenseNeily Boydnew year's eve, preschool new year's eve, new year's math, preschool math new year's eve, new year's early math, preschool play new year's eve, one more one less, math one more one less
How Long is One Year?This two-minute daily math routine will support your child’s understanding of counting by ones and tens, as well as begin to build their understanding of place values.
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Learning to Count, Place ValueNeily Boydearly math, preschool math, preschool, counting, counting with kids, preschool place value, place value, how long is one year, preschool time, teaching time
Make a Number MuseumWant a simple and engaging way to help your child practice counting? Make a NUMBER MUSEUM.
Seriously, couldn’t be simpler.
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Learning to Count, Rainy Day PlayNeily Boydcounting, making sets, number museum
Build a BugHave you ever heard of pattern blocks? They’re a GREAT learning resource for developing spatial reasoning. As children build the image, they have to practice rotating shapes to make them match the one in the picture.
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Geometry (Shapes)Neily Boydspatial reasoning, pattern blocks, build a bug, shapes design
3D Shape SortDoes your child already know the basic 2D shapes? Go ahead and introduce some simple 3D shapes with this simple, low-prep activity.
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Geometry (Shapes), Rainy Day PlayNeily Boydteach 3D shapes, solid shapes, shapes sort, 3D shapes sort, how to introduce 3D shapes, introduce 3D shapes, how to introduce solid shapes, introduce solid shapes, early math solid shapes
Copy BlocksCopy Blocks is a great way to promote building spatial reasoning, an important early geometry skill.
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Geometry (Shapes), Rainy Day PlayNeily Boyd
Guess My ShapeGuess My Shape requires NO SUPPLIES OR PREP so it’s a great thing to do when you’re driving in the car, waiting at the doctor’s office or just trying to find a way to fill a couple minutes.
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Geometry (Shapes)Neily Boyd
Floating NumbersFloating Numbers is another favorite of ours that combines counting practice with outdoor summer water play! ️
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Learning to Count, Outside Play, Building Number SenseNeily Boyd
When Do Kids Start Counting to 10?
Feb 12, 2022 Counting to 10 is a major developmental milestone to which many parents look forward. But, at what point should your child start to learn numbers, and when should they be able to count to 10?
In This Article
- When Should My Toddler Learn to Count to 10?
- Do you feel like your child should be counting by now?
- When Do Children Understand Basic Math Concepts?
- 9 Early Math Games for Kids Learning to Count to 10
- 1.
Coin counting game - 2. Magnetic fishing game
- 3. Songs about numbers
- 4. Get active while counting
- 5. Speech Blubs’ “Numbers and Me” section
- 1.
Math is all around us and from the moment children start exploring the world, they are learning. Whether they are identifying shapes, recognizing patterns, or predicting events, these are all mathematical concepts that develop as a child ages. But, at what age do children start to understand numbers?
The truth is, children will recite numbers before they actually understand the concept behind them. Though every child is different, most toddlers will be able to count to 10 by the time they are two-years-old. At this point in time they are probably repeating them mostly by memory and have yet to understand what they actually mean.
This concept is known as “rote” counting. Rote counting is when a child can say numbers in order, and is mostly learned through hearing the numbers repeatedly said out loud by others.
Take this free cutting-edge 3-minute quiz. You will find out if your child is on track with his milestones and receive a free report with a personalized plan of learning. Speech Blubs is full of activities to encourage speech development!
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When rote counting to 10, children may be able to cite numbers in order or may jump from number to number randomly. The more they hear others count, the more confident they will become in reciting the proper number orders.
Note: Don’t panic if your child is not able to count to 10 by the time they are 2-years-old. This is the average age that children learn to count, but is by no means definitive.
All children learn at their own pace and some will learn more quickly than others. You can help your child learn numbers by working with them on a regular basis and engaging in toddler math activities.
When Do Children Understand Basic Math Concepts?We mentioned above that even though most toddlers can cite their numbers by 2, they don’t necessarily understand the concept behind them. Children don’t actually start to understand the concepts of counting until between 2-4 years of age.
The first sign that your child is starting to understand the concept behind numbers is with a skill known as one-to-one correspondence. You will often see this during playtime. One-to-one correspondence is when children start to group objects, pointing to each one as they count them. Again, this math skill is often learned by copying others.
The next stage is understanding what these numbers represent. For example, if you count “one,” “two,” “three” cars, then there are three cars total in that group.
Once children start to understand this concept, the next stage is pairing numbers with their written numerals. Most children can start to understand this pairing by their preschool years, or 3-4 years of age.
Other mathematical concepts that are usually developed by the preschool years include the ability to recognize shapes, use classifications (height, size, etc.), use spatial awareness for puzzles, and start predicting cause and effect relationships.
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9 Early Math Games for Kids Learning to Count to 10
Here are some early math games for kids that you can do with your toddler to help them learn numbers and to count to 10:
1.
Coin counting gameIf you give a toddler a beautiful toy, what will they want to play with? A box.
This is because toddlers love “real-life” toys and often prefer them to plastic kids’ toys.
With a toddler, things like boxes, pots, and pans, and money will attract more attention than any toddler toy – so why not utilize this to your advantage?
To encourage counting for preschoolers, let them count coins. At the same time, you can work on sorting the coins by size and on learning the different values of the coins. Each of these are mathematical concepts that will develop over time, but that you can encourage by practicing regularly.
2. Magnetic fishing gameYou can purchase magnetic fishing games at almost any store that sells children’s toys.
These games are exactly what you would think they are – children use a magnetic pole to go “fishing” for magnetic fish.
Encourage your child to count the number of fish as they catch them. Not only will this encourage counting, but it will also help them with their hand-eye coordination.
Children love to sing and dance, and singing songs together is a great way to enhance learning. It is a perfect math game for kids, since they won’t even know they are learning! And when it comes to counting to 10, there are many songs out there that can help your child learn.
All you have to do is search YouTube for “number songs,” and you can choose from a long list of catchy tunes to help your child learn their numbers – and have a blast while doing it.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar is one of the classics, when it comes to teaching counting for preschoolers.4. Get active while countingWhen it comes to learning, we always like to encourage you to get your children outside.
And when it comes to mathematics, nature is one of the most educational places your child can be.
Why? Because there are examples of math all over – the symmetry of a snowflake, the pattern of a pinecone, the geometry of a honeycomb, the height of different trees – math is everywhere you look. Of course, you can’t expect your toddler to understand the geometry of a honeycomb, but you can encourage them to count outdoors. **You also might check out Jon Scieszka’s bestseller, The Math Curse, for a fun story about a child who encounters math in everyday activities.
Go for a walk, choose a piece of nature (i.e., a tree), and see how many you can count on your way.
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5. Speech Blubs’ “Numbers and Me” sectionSpeech Blubs is a speech therapy app that can help toddlers and young children to work on their speech.
It can be used by all children, including those at a “typical” developmental level, and those with developmental speech delays due to conditions like autism or other learning disabilities.
The NUM8ER5 AND M3 section of the app puts elementary numerical concepts on the tips of children’s tongues. It is a great early math game that you can use to teach counting to preschoolers.
Speech therapists will tell you that as children learn, the brain processes mathematical and linguistic stimulus in completely different locations of the brain. But, by doing exercises that target both of these neural centers simultaneously, you can help pave new neural networks within the brain.
When using Speech Blubs, children’s participation will be rewarded with fun facts that show how various numbers appear within the world, on our bodies, and within society in general. Regular updates of fresh and new content keep the app exciting and interesting for young ones.
Remember, however, that while the app works to help kids learn numbers and the concepts behind them, children always reap the most benefits when their parents participate.
In return, it’s important that you make time to laugh along, mimic the speech models with your child, and extend the ideas on the app into the real world so that they can gain more context.
The more time you spend doing toddler activities and using the Speech Blubs app with your child, the more benefits they will receive from it.
Teach numbers with Speech Blubs! Our fun section, NUM8ERS & M3 will help your toddler learn counting and develop his number sense in no time!
6. Go on a Numbers Hunt
Draw numbers from 1 to 10 on large pieces of paper. Tape them on the objects around the playroom or in your living room. For example, one can be on a chair, two can be on the couch, three in the corner, four on the wall, five at the window, etc. When you shout out a number, your child has to go to that number and point to any object they represent! If they struggle you can give them clues. This activity is best for kids aged 3 or 4 when they have already learned the numbers by rote.
It is also fun physical activity if you tell them they have to be as fast as possible or if you have more kids in the room who can compete to arrive first at the right number.
Find more ideas in this video about Number Recognition Preschool Activities:
Watch this video for more educational math activities for preschoolers!7. Trace the Numbers
For this one, you need masking tape. Tape the shape of a number on a big piece of paper and ask your little one to trace them with colored pencils or sharpies. Besides the number writing practice, this activity is also great for working on their fine motor skills! If they like it, it can keep them occupied while you take some time off, prepare a meal, etc.
8. Sort the Colorful Mini Pom-Poms
Take an egg carton, and write a number in each of the egg compartments. Color each with a specific color. Now find objects to fit in the egg compartment that are the same color. This can be paper clips or small fluffy pom-poms you can get in the dollar store. Now match the number of pom-poms with the number and color in an egg compartment. For example, 1 yellow pom-pom, 2 red pom-poms, 3 green pom-poms, etc. Give your toddler the exact number of pom-poms for each color! Mix them up, and ask your child to sort them. They will be sorting for hours, learning colors and numbers at the same time.
9. Count with Legos
If you have Legos or any other toy building bricks at home, you can simply count them and learn numbers. Write numbers from one to 10 on a piece of paper. Below each number write a square or a box. Ask your child to put one Lego brick in the box under the number one, two under the number two, three under the number three, and so on.
This will teach your child to compare what is less and what is more. You can also ask them: “Is one less than two? If I have two lego bricks, do I have more than one?” Don’t be too bothered with right or wrong answers (you can model to them what is right), the point is to just get them familiar with comparisons.
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Take this quiz and get a report on your child’s milestones and a personalized learning plan.
Start the Assessment
How to teach a child to count to 10, 20, 100
How to teach a child to count
Many children come to the first grade already with counting skills, so it is important for parents to teach them in advance. Today there are many techniques that make it interesting and fun.
Do not impose learning to count, it should be easy: in the course of daily activities or games. Count familiar objects together, gradually complicating the tasks. For example, he easily visualizes two oranges or four plates, but hardly abstract sets.
When to teach your child to count
Most experts believe that the best time to teach kids to count is 3-5 years. It is at this age that the child begins to be interested in new things and learns to establish patterns between numbers. However, everything is very individual. If the baby is actively exploring the world and is interested in mathematics earlier, you can start learning from the age of 1.5.
What methods to use to teach counting
We have collected proven methods that allow you to do this in a playful way that is interesting for the child.
- Finger counting . The technique helps to understand how to teach a child to count to ten. It will be difficult for a baby to remember all the numbers at once, so you can start with five and focus on the fingers of one hand. Introduce the child to their names, then connect the second hand. You can use finger games when one disappears or two or three fingers meet together.
- Use of study cards and sticks . You can lay them out one by one on the table and name the numbers, then move one part of the sticks to the right and the other to the left and ask how many sticks are in each part.
- Number games . Teaching children to count can take place in a playful way. For example, the role-playing game "shop". You need to choose who will be the seller and who will be the buyer, and assign a currency. Selling or buying sweets and toys, the child will easily remember the numbers up to ten and even up to twenty.
- Montessori method . It's like playing shop. You can give the child different coins, for example, a ruble, two, five, and ask him to calculate the amount or change money.
- Doman technique . The author recommends using cards with red dots for counting. The color will attract the baby's attention.
- Hundred Account Nikolai Zaitsev suggests immediately showing numbers from 0 to 99.
So the child will understand how many tens and units each number makes.
- Polyakov's method . You will need cubes, a box with compartments according to the number of cubes and numbers. First, one cube is taken, placed in a cell and the number 1 is placed next to it. And so on up to 100.
How to teach your child to count to 20
To teach your child to count to 20, use two pairs of hands - yours and his own. You can also use cubes, cards, sticks or draw dashes - whatever comes to mind. Such an account is given as easily as up to 10. At this stage, the child needs to understand the composition of the number.
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How to teach a child to count up to 100
Tell your child that there are only nine tens, then name each tens: ten, twenty, thirty, and so on. Invite him to memorize 10 new digits of each ten every day.
At the end of the day, ask what the child remembers and repeat what they have learned on other days. To simplify repetition, you can count the objects that are in front of you. After the child has mastered the tens, invite him to play a game: write a series of numbers with tens and skip one number in the middle. Ask your child to complete the pass.
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You can also use Glenn Doman's method. First, the child needs to be shown cards with no more than five dots, then increase their number to 20, 50, and then up to 100. This method will also help train visual memory.
It is important to draw the attention of the child to the numbers from 11 to 19, as they are called differently from the rest.
Source: freepik.com
How to teach your child to add and subtract
To teach a child to solve examples, visualization is needed again. Bend and bend your fingers, remove and take out sweets.
Addition and subtraction are reciprocal operations.
This connection needs to be conveyed to the child. That is, to demonstrate that 2+1 = 3 is the same as 3−1 = 2 and 3−2 = 1. If the child has mastered the principle, there will be no problems with other numbers.
To teach your child to add and subtract within 20, you need a number line. For example, 5+3. We find the number 3 on the beam and take five steps to the right. You can do the same with your fingers. So you can teach to count with the transition through a dozen and without.
Actions with the transition through ten have a peculiarity: you need to know the composition of the number and the pair of numbers that together form a ten (1 and 9, 2 and 8, 3 and 7, 4 and 6, 5 and 5). For example, 7+6. Seven to ten lacks three, that is, it turns out 7 + 3 + unknown. The six gave away three to ten, which means that there are still three left. Then it turns out: 7+3+3.
How to teach a child to count in columns
Explain that in addition and subtraction, all actions are performed in digits: tens with tens, ones with ones.
For example, 31 + 12: a three is added to a unit, a unit to a two.
To simplify, you can do training exercises - for example, write numbers under each other. Number 6 at the bottom, 12 at the top. It is important to explain to the child that six should be under the number 2, and not 1, as it refers to units.
Start with simple examples, where numbers add up to a number less than 10. Then you can move on to examples with a transition through ten: for example, 25 + 16. 5 + 6 add up to 11. Then we write the unit from 11 under the line, and we remember the unit as a ten. When we add the tens, we get 2 + 1 and another +1, which we kept in our heads.
In the case of subtraction, you should also start with simple examples, gradually moving on to more complex ones. For example: 25-16, in the column where there are ones, 5 less than 6, explain to the child that in this case we kind of “borrow” a unit from tens.
For convenience, you can use the symbols that are marked in blue in the figure.
In the first case, a ten is added, in the second, a dot serves as a reminder of a “busy” ten.
Counting games and exercises
Lego
Build towers with a certain number of blocks to teach your child to count. Later Lego will be needed in the development of fractions.
Fairy tales
Read to your child passages from fairy tales that contain numbers. He needs to clap as soon as he hears them.
Coloring pages with examples
You can teach your child to add and subtract through coloring pages, where an example is written in each cell, by solving which the child will recognize the color.
Board game "Strawberry paths"
There are two types of cards in the game: "Picking berries" and "Sharing berries". In the first case, you need to string a certain amount on your thread, and in the second, subtract, that is, give away. In the process, you need to count the berries and compare.
Dominoes with numbers
The principle is the same as with pictures.
One domino with two numbers around the edges is laid out by the child, the parent picks up a die with one of the numbers. The one who gets rid of the dominoes first wins.
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