Teach Your Child How to Count

Teaching your children to count can actually be one of the easiest educational factors to teach your children, seriously. Perhaps different from what you may have heard, when counting becomes an everyday way of life you’ll find you don’t even have to spend a moment teaching. Sometimes even simple processes can seem complex and frustrating.

Counting is the first math concept that is taught in school, next to number recognition. And this process can begin to be taught as early on as two. It just all depends on how you see every day events at home. With a start like that your child will have no problem walking into Kindergarten being able to count to twenty, whether that be free count or object counting.

Even when your child is a baby you can count fingers and toes while you are bathing them, changing them, or communicating with them. You can also start at this age by introducing fun little counting books.

Preschool
With preschoolers, make every day activities and events a counting exercise, the best way to learn is when you don’t even realize you’re learning something at all. Whatever you are doing there is something to be counting, at dinner “how many people are eating; one, two, three, four, etc. So, how many cups do we need? Four. Then count the cups, plates spoons or forks, etc. When you are driving, “How many signs on the side of the road are there from here to grandmas? Count the signs as you are traveling. In the doctor’s office, “how many people are waiting in front of us? The possibilities are endless, you can incorporate a counting exercise with everything you do.

Your child will pick counting up within weeks and begin counting things just like you. Expose your child to online or printed worksheets that incorporate counting and the counting process. Usually when children are in this age group you don’t want to go beyond 20, as this tends to be confusing for children. Unless your child is advanced in the counting game then you can absolutely introduce the counting of ten’s to your children.

Main points to address:

• Incorporate games and math worksheets into your child’s life.
• Make every day activities a counting exercise.

Grades K-3rd
Once your child can count 1-20, there are a variety of other counting patterns you can teach them. Although they will learn these in school, it’s always fun when children begin to teach something and your bright child already knows how to do it.

Normally children learn to count in twos, fives and tens between 1st and 2nd grade, many school districts vary in teaching methods and grades for various subtopics of main topics therefore, this could be off from your district as well. For a fun way of teaching this, you can start with 2…4…6…8 who do we appreciate? (Your child’s name twice) Yeah… (again say your child’s name). Sing in a more rhythmic manner when you are going through the various number patterns. 5…10…15…20…25…30…etc. emphasizing the remainder of the ten’s spots.

You can also introduce the process of counting to 100. When explaining this concept to your children write down the numbers 1 through 9. While you count each number that you write down. Go through the teens, 13, 14, 15, etc., and show them once they get to twenty they just add the number 1-9 to the twenty, 21, 22, 23, 24, etc., once they get to the nines, such as twenty-nine it becomes another set of numbers. The next set of numbers are consecutive to the last set. Sense the last set was twenty the next set is three (thirty) and on and on. While you are explaining about the sets of numbers, count to a hundred pointing to each number for the sets. For example point to the two while you are counting 20-29. Explain it that simple and your kids will get it, that’s simple.

Main points to address:

• Introduce counting with twos, fives, and tens.
• Explain the process of counting 1-100.

Resources
Resources that can help you in your venture include:

• Math and Reading help – http://math-and-reading-help-for-kids.org
• Songs for Teaching – http://www.songsforteaching.com

Worksheets & Games

• Math Worksheets – http://www.mathworksheetwizard.com/
• Kaboose Math Games – http://resources.kaboose.com/games/math1.html
• A Kids Heart – http://akidsheart.com/threer/numcolor.htm

Online counting games for children

• Kids Corner – http://www.dre.ca.gov/little_kids.htm
• Crypto Kids – http://www.nsa.gov/kids/
• Seussville – http://www.seussville.com/
• Learning Planet – http://www.learningplanet.com
• Humphrey Bear – http://www.humphreybear.com/

Posted in Education.

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