Counting to 10: everyday counting games before school
Count real things, one touch for each number, and ask how many at the end. Short games on the stairs, at snack time and in the car are all it takes.
One number for each thing
Saying one, two, three is not the same as counting. Real counting means matching one number word to each thing, and each thing to one number word. Kindergarten standards in the United States describe exactly this pairing.
The easiest way to practice is to make the matching physical. Your child touches each thing, or better, moves it, while saying the number. A thing that has moved cannot be counted twice.
Try these small games:
- Move grapes one by one from a bowl to a plate while counting
- Count claps, jumps or knocks on the door, one number per sound
- Set the table: one spoon for each person, then count the spoons
- Drop buttons into a jar, saying a number with every clink
The last number tells how many
After counting, ask: so how many are there? If your child starts counting again from one, that is a sign. The link between the last number and the size of the group is still forming.
This link is called cardinality, and it is a kindergarten goal. You can help by making the last number loud and clear. One, two, three, four, five. Five cars! Then ask again later: how many cars did we count?
A fun follow-up is the magic trick. Count five blocks in a row, then spread them out or stack them. Ask: how many now? The standards point out that the number stays the same whatever the arrangement. Your child may want to count again to check, and that is fine.
Fingers, dice and five-frames
Some patterns let children see a number without counting each thing. The aim is to know three or five at a glance, the way grown-ups read the dots on a die.
Fingers come first. One hand is five, so six is a full hand and one more. Show numbers on your fingers and let your child copy you. Ask: how did you make seven? Five and two is one answer, four and three is another.
Dice are the next step. Any board game with one die gives lots of practice. At first your child will count the dots. With practice, you may notice your child naming some patterns without counting.
A five-frame is a row of five boxes. Draw one on paper, or cut a row of five cups from an egg carton. Fill it with pasta or buttons. A full row is five, and empty boxes show how many are missing.
Counting on stairs, snacks and cars
For three-year-olds, the CDC suggests counting games with body parts, stairs and everyday things. The best counting practice is woven into the day, a few seconds at a time.
Here are moments that come up every day:
- Stairs: count each step on the way up, and count down on the way back
- Snacks: ask for a number, like give me four crackers, before eating
- Cars: count the red cars, or the buses, on one short walk
- Socks: count pairs from the laundry basket together
- Bath time: count toes, rubber ducks or cups of water poured out
- Waiting: count to ten together while the toast pops or the light turns green
Zero, the number for none
Zero is easy to forget, but it is a real number. Kindergarten standards ask children to write 0 as the number for a group with nothing in it.
Snack time is the perfect moment. Count the crackers on the plate, then eat them one by one and count down. When the plate is empty, ask: how many now? Zero!
Counting down to zero is a game children love. Three, two, one, zero, blast off! Use it before a race, a jump into a pile of leaves or the bath.
How the counting games fit in
The CDC lists counting to 10 among the milestones many children reach by 5 years. The Counting 1 to 10 game practices the same ideas as this guide. In Count, your child taps each apple or ladybug once and hears the count go up. Tapping one twice gets a friendly reminder that it was already counted.
At the end of each count, the game says the total: That makes six apples! The Fingers screen says six as five and one. Feed the caterpillar asks for exactly as many apples as it wants, which is counting out.
The Dots screen shows the numbers up to six as dice patterns. Bigger numbers appear as a row of five and some more. In Write, your child traces the numbers 0 to 10, and that many apples appear.
When counting ten things feels easy, Counting to 20 takes the next step. It uses two ten frames, a number line with a hedgehog and counting on from ten.