numbers

[sunshine80]

We are really having a hard time with numbers.  Abby knows how to count but only to 10.  She will try to count higher but it's more guessing.  I have no idea how to help her.  She is also calling numbers letters.  I think I've spent to much time on letters and not enough on numbers.  She knows she phonics of all letters and we are starting to read.  Any ideas???

~ marisa

[bheath01]

We are about in the same boat as you are . My daughter knows 1-20 but misses acouple numbers towards 20. I dont work on numbers as much as I should, I dont know why. My daughter likes counting with things like candy, cookies, things she doesnt get  much of, so when we are finish she can have the things we count with. Sorry Im not much help.

[LoreleiSieja]

I'm a preschool teacher, and just finished doing assessments on my four year olds (you don't mention how old your child is).  Many of them know their letters better than their numbers.  We see letters all the time, all day long, splashed across bilboards, tv screens, cereal boxes, etc.  We see "Cap'n Crunch" but we don't see "One". 

Anyway, here's some ideas to help her learn numbers and counting:

1. write numbers LARGE and in red.  Preschoolers need things written large, to prevent eye strain.  If you buy flashcards, the type is often too small.  Think five inches tall for a 2 yr old, or 3 inches tall for a four year old.

2. When you count items, don't have ten items on the table - but fifty-five.  Show one toy car, and say, "one car".  Then show two toy cars and say, "two cars." If you just have ten toy cars, and count  "one, two, three..." the child may think that the first car is one, but the next car itself is two - like that is it's name, and not understand the concept of "two-ness". 

3. Children need to learn the concept of one-to-one correspondance BEFORE they can understand math.  Matching things is a good activity.  Have her help you match socks, or set spoons around the table - one spoon for every plate. 

4. Play this counting game with her, to music if you have time.  I do this with my preschoolers. We stand in a circle, and I'll chant in rhythm: "tap your shoulders and count to twelve, one, two, three, four (and we all tap our shoulders as we count to twelve)" then "Tap your knees and count to 11" and do it.  "Flap your elbows and count to 20" "Wiggle your ears and count to fifteen!" Keep coming up with different actions. The action plus the counting is a good activity that will keep her interest for about fifteen minutes.  After several months, you should see her counting ability greatly improved.

5. play chidlren's games with her, like lotto, candyland, hi ho cheerio,etc, which help her learn about counting spaces to move her game piece, matching things, etc.

6. puzzles are a terrific pre-math activity.  Kids who are good at puzzles are generally good at math.  Start with four or five piece wood puzzles, and gradually increase to 500 piece jigsaw puzzles.

7. Have her count pennies in aj ar, eggs in an egg carton, dried beans, teddy grahams.  When you give her teddy grahams for a snack, count all of them on her plate.  Eat two, Now count them again.  how many are left?

8. sorting is another great math activity. Sort things by color, or size, or shape.  Buy a bag of 16 bean dried bean soup mix, and have her sort the beans.  Give her a coin jar and sort coins.

9. Finally, there are websites that offer printables, that she can practice writing the numbers. 

Keep it fun, and she'll be a great little mathematician before you know it!

Lorelei