Teach preschoolers numbers
8 Tips on How to Teach Numbers to Kindergarten
Understanding numbers is an important skill that kindergartners need to master. Children encounter and observe various concepts of mathematics since infancy, such as quantity comparison and pattern recognition. Once children reach preschool age, you can start teaching them numbers in a fun and interactive way.
Video: How to Teach Numbers to Preschool Kids
Teaching numbers to children is simple. Parents can motivate them to relate numbers with activities they perform on a daily basis. However, they will only begin to truly comprehend the meaning of numbers until they are around five years old.
When to Teach Numbers to a Child?
It is a great idea to start introducing numbers to your child after she turns one. You can start with number rhymes, like ‘One, Two, Buckle My Shoe’, ‘Ten Green Bottles,’ or 1,2,3,4,5, Once I caught a fish alive’. You can also point out simple objects or things they encounter in their daily lives, such as one apple, two dogs, three chocolates, and so on. You can make learning numbers playful and enjoyable for your child.
How to Teach Numbers to Preschoolers
Here are some tips that will help you teach numbers to preschoolers:
1. Teach Counting with Number Rhymes
Using rhymes and songs is a fun way of learning numbers for kindergartners. You can use number songs and rhymes like ‘10 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed’, ‘This Old Man – He played One’, ‘The Ants Are Marching One by One Hurrah,’ etc. to teach kids about numbers in an immensely enjoyable manner. Show the numbers on your fingers as you sing together with your child so that the child knows that a particular number relates to that many fingers.
2. Incorporate Numbers into Daily Tasks
Use numbers in daily tasks that your child does with you.
For example, ask your child to help set the table and place one fork or two spoons with each plate. You could also get her to count peas or apples, thus connecting numbers with quantities. Another idea is that you can encourage her to count her toys as they help you put them away after playing.
3. Play Number Games with a Group of Kids
Kids learn better when they are playing with each other. You can encourage some healthy competition in the group to motivate them, too. Get them to sit in a circle and take turns counting numbers.
4. Write Down Numbers and Make the Child Draw that Quantity
Write down numbers in a drawing book and have your child draw something that denotes that quantity. For example, write 3 and ask her to draw three flowers. For 4, you could ask the child to draw four ice cream cones. You can also do the opposite of this by drawing several quantities of an object and asking your child to count them and tell you the number.
5. Point Out Numbers on Ad Boards and Vehicles
When you go out with your child, you can point out numbers on ad boards or vehicles and thus help her recognise the numbers by sight.
This will be helpful later on when your child begins writing numbers.
6. Teach the Order of Numbers with Connect the Dots
This game teaches kids the order of numbers. Use a chalkboard to form a shape with numbered dots. Next, help your child connect the dots to draw that shape. For example, you could use 8 dots to make an octagon shape and help your child draw an octagon. You can also buy connect-the-dots books, which have numerous drawings outlined by numbered dots. These dots need to be connected sequentially to draw the shape. Once the shape is drawn, let your child colour the shape to make the game more fun.
7. Count Fingers and Toes
Counting fingers and toes is a great way to introduce pre-schoolers to numbers. You could make them count the fingers on each hand and ask them to compare the number of fingers on each hand. You can also ask them how many big toes they have or how many little fingers they have.
8. Make and Use Flash Cards
Make flash cards with numbers zero to nine and use these to play various number games with your child.
For example, you could place the numbers in a random order and help your child arrange them in the correct sequence.
Children are quick learners, and they can grasp concepts with ease. Introducing numbers to kindergartners in a fun way will help them understand numbers easily. Pre-schoolers tend to memorise numbers. However, they will gradually begin to understand what the numbers mean when you relate the quantity of everyday objects to the numbers. Each child is unique and learns at her own pace. Therefore, it is advisable to avoid comparing the learning abilities of different children.
Also Read: How to Teach English to Kids
Numbers Activities for Preschoolers - I Can Teach My Child!
Learning numbers is an essential of early childhood education. The following number activities for toddlers to preschoolers will provide fun and hands-on ways of teaching your child numbers and one-to-one correspondence. From counting aloud to higher level math skills, number recognition is an essential preschool skill!
Pumpkin Match Game This is such a fun numbers activity that combines one-to-one correspondence and number recognition.
Toddlers will enjoy putting the pumpkins in their slots and preschoolers will enjoy counting the dots and matching the correct numbered pumpkin.
Understanding that numbers are not just symbols, but represent quantities, is an important concept for preschoolers to learn. Too often, children can recite their numbers, but don’t fully understand what the numbers represent. This combined numbers activity and matching numbers game can help children with understanding and comparing numbers.
Number FlashcardsAnytime you can incorporate multiple senses into an activity, it is beneficial for your child’s learning. In this number recognition activity, your child will be using 2 of their senses, both sight and touch. Make your own number flashcards with some sand and glue.
Push Pin Art With Numbers The idea for learning numbers with push pins came from Big Brother’s preschool teacher, who has been using this method for one of the alphabet stations in her classroom.
It is super simple, great for teaching letter and number formation, and even helps your child develop the proper grip needed for writing.
These Do-A-Dot Markers are so cool…and they’re especially wonderful for pre-writers. The thing I love about them is that they are so versatile and they allow your child to learn the correct formation of numbers before having to have the fine motor control to actually write them. Here’s a simple do-a-dot number activity you can do with them.
How To Teach Skip CountingUsing an abacus is an excellent way to make skip counting tangible for preschoolers. By adding the physical element of manipulating the abacus, children can comprehend the action of skip counting more accurately than teaching using only rote memorization.
Counting Big Numbers On An Abacus After learning skip counting, teach your kids how to count big numbers (and teach place value in the process) on an abacus.
Big Brother is learning to add, so we took the opportunity to turn a traditional game of dominoes into a fun math activity. This domino addition with dot markers can also be used to teach the concept of odd and even numbers using two different colors of dot markers.
Find The Mystery NumberLearning numbers is more fun when you get to dig for them! Before doing any directed activity with the birdseed, just give the kids some scoops, funnels, or cups and they will stay busy for a long time! While they are busy playing, you can get all your supplies ready for this mystery number dig.
Pumpkin Dot To DotThis Roll and Mark Pumpkin Dot Art number activity is super simple and perfect for preschoolers. Combine number learning and number recognition in with pumpkin play.
Counting ButtonsLittle Sister and I have been loosely working on one-to-one correspondence and number recognition lately.
I thought this would be the perfect opportunity for some Corduroy Math, inspired by this timeless book! Free teddy bear printables included for this activity.
What kid doesn’t love playing in a big pile of leaves? Get your kids outdoors and mix some number learning with hands-on play!
Number DetectivesInvite your kids to be number detectives and “capture” their numbers by squirting them with water. Have fun outdoors while simultaneously working on so many skills, such as counting, number recognition, gross motor, and fine motor skills.
Counting With Popsicle SticksThis simple number activity is great for number recognition, one-to-one correspondence, and fine motor control! We used some robot stickers to make the activity even more appealing to Little Brother.
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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.
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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