My 20-month-old granddaughter, Ruby, was visiting me and was being a little ornery. She was running away as I was trying to catch her to change her diaper. I said, “you come back here…. 1… 2…” and in her sweet little voice she said “3, 4”! She had no idea that “3” meant trouble. We had been reading books about counting and, even at her young age, she had picked up on the numbers.
Young children’s brains are like sponges from birth to age five: they absorb everything. In fact, 90% of brain development happens before a child’s fifth birthday. Learning numbers and counting are early math skills and start with simply saying numbers, then saying numbers in order, and finally counting items while saying numbers. Children can start learning about numbers at a very early age; by the time they start Kindergarten, they should be able to correctly count at least five objects.
There are lots of ways to teach young children about numbers and counting. For example, whenever you are out and about, identify numbers on signs, on car license plates, on buildings, etc. Count out your child’s gummy snacks as you serve them. Count your steps, the buttons on their shirt—you can count just about anything.
There are many songs that include counting and numbers, and putting things to music is a great way to help kids learn. (Don’t worry if you can’t sing, your child doesn’t care, and they will love sharing time with you.) Some songs Ruby and I like are:
Being that September is also National Literacy Month, I wanted to also share Ruby’s and my favorite counting books. These books are available at the local library, but I’ve also linked each one to an online reading.
There are many more counting books, and you can turn just about any book into a counting book by counting objects on each page.
Happy counting!
Missy