My nearly 4 year old Ds2 can't count

[coldtits]

H can recite the numbers, but doesn't seem to have made the link between amounts of stuff and a number.

I tried playing children's monopoly with them both this afternoon - and he seriously can'[t count past 3.

I'm a bit worried. Obviously we do count things, but how can I help him see the link between things and numbers of things? Ds1 (yes, yes, you shouldn't compare) didn't need to be taught this stuff, it seems he was born knowing it.

He can recite numbers to about 15, but cannot count objects past 2 or 3.

I think he's still young. I really believe you can go blue in the face trying to teach kids things like this so they make the connection but they wont until the time is right. Ds is 3.2 but when he was little I remember trying to teach him colours, it was hopeless then one day he was just coming out with 'there's a red car, a blue jumper' etc. I know its different but I think the principle is the same.

If you want to work on it with him do, but do not worry about it. I work in a preschool and lack of 1-1 correspondense with counting is not uncomon at that age.

do practice in a fun way -

eg choc buttons or smarties - small pile - get him to count them by moving them one at a time saying the number - if he gets the counting right he gets to eat the sweets!

play what's the time Mr Wolf - counting the footsteps.

try having a look under montessori teaching on google and see if anything useful comes up - my son's montessori schoolteacher was talking me through how they get the dcs to make that connection between numbers and number of things, and they use physical stuff like little sticks, so the more you count, the more you are holding onto in your hand IYSWIM. I think the holding it in your hands makes a difference rather than just looking at groups of things or pictures of things relating to the number.

hth

sounds absolutely fine to me for that age, just keep trying, and eventually he'll get it.

correspondenCe doh!