counting?

[MathsMadMummy]

hello,
DD (2.11) has liked numbers for a while, but really got obsessed with into counting today (starting at breakfast when she lined up her fruit!?) and I'm just wondering how to build on it. I don't want to just keep giving her objects and asking 'how many' as I'm getting sick of my own voice! any ideas? games etc?

TIA

also ways of introducing numbers 11-20 - I deliberately stuck to 0-10 and I think I left it a bit too long to add bigger ones!

Cooking is great for counting. Asking her to count how many eggs or spoonfuls of sugar/flour/ etc. Making a sandwich and having her get 2 pieces of bread, 1 slice of cheese, etc. Having her categorise her fruit is good. Asking her which fruit she has the most of. As she eats it, asking her how many she has now. How many forks you need to set the table if mummy and DD are eating, etc. It can go on and on.

What about singing? 1,2,3,4,5, once I caught a fish alive etc. etc. etc. and counting as you're out and about (how many stairs / steps to the other side of the road...)

Just saw your other post too. Just start adding in more numbers. So, how many cars does she see on a walk? How many trees? Anything else that she sees a lot of, once she hears the numbers, she'll pick it up quicker than you think.

Does she recognise written numbers yet? You can start having her recognise numbers on houses, buses, in the street, etc.

Just count EVREYTHING as you go along - walking up steps, sorting the washing, putting fruit in a bowl etc.

Lots of counting songs out there. Going both ways (forwards or backwards)

If you want to introduce the bigger numbers just keep repeating them. Doing it sing-song helps them stick.

She might be old enough to start playing some simple board games where you have to move counters like snakes & ladders, or Orchard Toys do some nice ones (we have 'If you see a crocodile'). Coping with the concept of winning and losing may take longer though.

thanks all. lots of nice ideas

yes she recognises 0-10, she learnt them pretty early, it was only in the last few months she really understood what the numbers 3 and up actually mean!

I just remembered mum got us a large dice (sorry, a die) with proper numbers rather than dots. I should dig it out and start using it! we have a few games but it seems a bit much for her to do the counting and follow the other concepts like ladders going up, IYSWIM. maybe I should just make a simple track to use instead!

good point about categories - I'd been wondering about patterns too, as she loves colours, i.e. red blue red blue, what comes next? or is it way too early for that concept?

hope I'm not appearing pushy, especially given my MN nickname she just enjoys learnin' stuff.

in case there's any more ideas out there

Littlemad is a star with numbers trying not to be a boastful mum emoticon

He has enjoyed; dominoes, roman numerals dice, hopscotch, making lists, learning about 1st. 2nd 3rd etc and matching the letter of the alphabet to it's corresponding number.

I don't push littlemad at all I'm too lazy sure he'll do what he wants in his own time but at the same time you have to give them enough to keep them busy,

ooh ordinal numbers I hadn't thought of that. she certainly knows 'first' - "me go first me go first" all the time...

Yeah, just do it all the time. Count steps, count how many jumps she can do in a row, count out things from one pot to another. My friend's son loves having 10 (or more) cards with numbers at the top, and then putting these lovely little glass nuggets on them - one on 1, two on 2 etc.

Get that book I mentioned on that HE thread - Games for Math by Peggy Kaye - lots in there for teaching numbers.

One game DD3 really liked - sticking 6 (or 5 or whatever) bits of pasta on a sheet in different patterns, each bit must touch another bit. But it's so she can see that 6 means 6 if it's in a line, or a group, or a muddle or whatever.

Ah yes we have Mancala so I can steal all the glass beads from that! I bet she'd like sticking pasta everywhere too.

That Peggy Kaye book though - couldn't find it on UK Amazon, where did you get it?

on UK amazon!

Hang on, let me look at my past orders and get to the link that way...

Hopscotch

Peggy Kaye book She does others too.

aha! thanks