When do toddlers recognize numbers
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?
- When Do Children Understand Basic Math Concepts?
- 9 Early Math Games for Kids Learning to Count to 10
- 1. Speech Blubs’ “Awesome Numbers” and “Numbers and Me” section
- 2. Coin counting game
- 3. Magnetic fishing game
- 4. Songs about numbers
- 5. Get active while counting
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.
Do you feel like your child should be counting by now?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. Speech Blubs’ “Awesome Numbers” and “Numbers and Me” sectionSpeech Blubs is an award-winning speech therapy and vocabulary-building app that helps toddlers and young children grow their vocabulary and nurture their speech. All children can play and learn with it, including those at a “typical” developmental level, and those with developmental speech delays due to conditions like autism or other learning disabilities.
The educational ‘Awesome Numbers’ and ‘Numbers and Me’ games put elementary numerical concepts on the tips of kids’ tongues.
These are great early math games 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, kids are rewarded with fun facts that show how various numbers appear within the world around them.
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. It’s important that you make time to laugh and play along with your child and extend the ideas from the app into the real world so that your child 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 early math skills with Speech Blubs! Our super fun educational games Awesome Numbers, Numbers and Me, Silly Shapes, and Get Into Shapes, will help your toddler learn to count and develop their sense of numbers and other early mathematical concepts in no time!
2.
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.
You 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.
4. Songs about numbersChildren 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.
When 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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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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Counting Milestones through Age 3 – BabySparks
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One, two…three! It’s exciting to hear your little mathematician count his first sequence of numbers. And the best part is that babies and toddlers develop counting skills through simple play activities parents and caregivers do with them every day (hint: our BabySparks development program includes lots of fun counting activities that support all of the milestones below!).
Highlights:
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The following counting milestones are general – remember that every child develops at his or her own pace.
0-12 Months
Your toddler’s counting skills start with understanding the concept of sequence. At this age, your baby will develop this understanding by participating in daily routines. For example, he’ll know that he eats soon after he wakes up, followed by playtime and a short nap.
You can help him learn this skill by explaining upcoming events using sequencing words. For example, “All done with lunch! Next, let’s wash your hands. Then, we can read a book.”
It’s never too early to help your child recognize numbers even though he won’t understand what they mean yet. Reading books or playing with toys and puzzles with numbers makes it easy to count and name numbers together. You can also use words like big, bigger, small, smaller to compare number quantities.
13-24 Months
Between ages 1 and 2, your toddler will develop a deeper understanding of numbers and what they mean. It’s common for toddlers at this age to try to count objects but say numbers randomly or out of order (“1, 5, 2, 3…”). This shows that he’s beginning to see that numbers tell us how many.
Your toddler can also recognize simple patterns as he nears age two. He might notice your shirt has stripes in a pattern of blue-yellow-blue-yellow, for example.
Patterns recognition aids sequencing, predicting, and problem-solving skills, all of which work together with counting skills.
25-36 Months
Now that your toddler has the fundamentals down, he’ll begin to work with numbers in more meaningful ways. Beginning around 25 months, your toddler begins to:
- Match real objects with symbolic ones (example: holding a toy elephant up to an elephant in a book)
- Gain a basic understanding of one-to-one correspondence (example: placing one pom-pom in each space in an ice cube tray)
- Understand simple quantification (example: one group of objects has less than another)
Between 28 and 30 months, your toddler will better grasp number sequence, understanding that one number comes after another. Toddlers also show off their number sense, like attempting to count how many people are in a room (he may only correctly get to 2 or 3) or exclaiming that it’s getting close to bedtime. Your toddler may also begin displaying how old he is by holding up his fingers.
Your toddler can now recognize at least two basic shapes, too! Shapes are important for number recognition, which supports counting skills.
Starting around 34 months, your toddler can instantly recognize how many objects are in a set up to three without counting them. He may also try to count to ten from memory, but will probably still make a few mistakes. That’s okay! Keep counting with him. It won’t be long until he can count to ten by himself and understand what those numbers mean.
Counting really begins to jump during the preschool years (3 to 5), but only from a well-laid foundation of mathematical concepts during baby and toddlerhood!
BabySparks
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 other 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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