Teaching your Toddler to Count

[Boo Boo]

DD who is nearly 3.5 years can recite 1 to about 15 "parrot fashion" but I don't think she understands the concept of actually counting out items so to speak.

So any good ideas on how to teach her, I guess it is just counting out objects all the time and she will pick up on this. Did you actively teach your toddler to count, I feel slack that I havn't really and have let her down.

Laurin x

[Mother Goose]

My DD is almost 3 and also has little concept of the actual amount. She has known what two is for ages (because she wants two of everything ) but above that, not a clue! We have a book called counting grasshoppers or something, different animals each page and you have to count how many (a gift bought from Aust Post). DD tries and can count to 13 but I still doubt she has any concept of the amount. We just count everything out whenever we can. Fruit and Veg shopping is a great time for us...

[Olive]

ive never really thought about it this way, i think because we just do it within nornal day to day things ITMS, i just tested DD1 i asked her to bring me three toys which she did, maybe start counting things out when your doing things like when cooking dinner-count vegies etc.. ask her to get you a certain amount of toys

[Artechim]

I have been told by a Parents as First Teachers tutor that you need to physically touch the objects as you count to get the concept across otherwise it is just a parrot response. So when you are counting out toys/fruit/whatever, we get out our pointer fingers and touch everything as we say the words. It has worked for us, DS seems to understand the concept now instead of just firing off the words by rote.

[maz]

We count the pegs when we hang the washing (also colours but thats a different thread)

I ask her how many and she says 2 then I ask her to count them...1....2. When she started she had no idea so I would count them out first.

Echoing your counting is the first step..thats how kids learn to talk to hon. Make her feel important and ask her. It may take a while but hey....its learning
xx

[kirsty_lee]

My dd is 21 months almost and she actually counts objects. Quite cute. The thing that really helped was getting her 'flash card' type things. I got them from Learning ladder and they go from 1-10 with pictures on them. And then there is a card with all the objects on there from 1-10 and you get them to pick out the flash card that is the number 5 for example. Made the world of difference and now she can look at a bunch of things and count them.

[MistyFying]

I think the best thing at that age is to help them learn the names of the numbers and and start to introduce them to the meaning of numbers using small numbers (like asking if the toddler wants one or two crackers and showing them what one looks like, and then showing them what two looks like).

[*Ali*]

That is actualley quite normal, developmentally most kids dont have an understanding of the 'count' untill about 5 or older, and even then they still need to recount each time you move a group of items around. The maths number outcomes for preprimary- year 1 are actualley still focusing on counting up to about 20 and understanding what it actualley means- so don't stress out too much.

I am personally a stronger believer in not activley 'teaching' kids at a young age (there is plenty of time for that when they are at school) but learning through fun, so if you wanted to work on counting ideas you would only be working with groups of things less than five, you might count out biscuits on a plate, 1,2,3,4 oh look there are four biscuits, one for you, one for me, one for daddy and one for teddy etc. just so they begin to understand that counting is talking about a group of things.

Anyway I hope that helps, I will take of my teaching hat now, supposed to be on holidays

[BekZ]

I am personally a stronger believer in not activley 'teaching' kids at a young age (there is plenty of time for that when they are at school) but learning through fun, so if you wanted to work on counting ideas you would only be working with groups of things less than five, you might count out biscuits on a plate, 1,2,3,4 oh look there are four biscuits, one for you, one for me, one for daddy and one for teddy etc. just so they begin to understand that counting is talking about a group of things.

Anyway I hope that helps, I will take of my teaching hat now, supposed to be on holidays

yeah that. I make learning apart of our everyday living. HTH

[shellbell3]

We incorporate counting into our daily things, like if we read a book we might count certain things on the page and at first I'd point her finger on the items to count now she can do that alone.
If we are playing a game we may count the objects.
Now she loves counting things and has grasped that understanding of counting rather than just parroting.

[Roryrory]

I suggets you check out the book "Einstein Never Used Flashcards - How Our Children REALLY Learn – and Why They Need to Play More and Memorize Less" by Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and Roberta Michnick Golinkoff with Diane Eyer.

This is from the website associated with the book:

The pressure is on! In today’s fast-paced, fiercely competitive world, parents want to give their young children an edge on learning. Parents struggle to turn out children that no college can refuse and no employer let go. Is it any wonder then, that the baby-educating toy category is now a one-billion-dollar-a-year-business? According to one recent survey, 65% of parents believe that flash cards are “very effective” in helping 2-year-olds develop their intellectual capacity. So moms and dads drill their little ones with “Baby Webster” vocabulary cards, then take a break by popping in a “Baby Einstein” videotape. The irony is that 30 years of accumulated scientific knowledge have taught us that faster is not better. Yet the crisis continues as young children are pushed to achieve and produce in ways that are antithetical to how children learn best.

Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, developmental psychologists who specialize in how children learn, and mothers who have felt the pressure themselves, urge parents and educators to address this crisis and help their children become life-long learners. In their groundbreaking book, EINSTEIN NEVER USED FLASHCARDS: How Our Children REALLY Learn – and Why They Need to Play More and Memorize Less (Rodale Books/October 2003/$22.95 Hardcover), they liberate caring adults from the cult of achievement and present a better way to grow smart kids -- one that’s backed by a wealth of solid respected research. It also offers evidence for what teachers have long suspected -- children learn better in a playful environment.

The authors have good news for beleaguered parents caught on the early learning treadmill: research overwhelmingly shows that a child’s intellectual awakening takes place during the normal adult-child interactions that occur in everyday, purposeful activities. “Parents easily foster self-confident learners through activities that gently challenge children to reach the edge of their developmental level, but not beyond,” Hirsh-Pasek and Golinkoff assure. “Playful environments and spontaneous learning opportunities hold the keys for a happy, emotionally healthy, and intelligent child—and for a fulfilled parent.” Parents and teachers need to be guides in helping children learn in a meaningful way that incorporates play. They also need to recognize their critical role in helping children gain emotional intelligence, which is just as important as IQ for success in life.

Packed with practical and immediately usable suggestions, EINSTEIN NEVER USED FLASH CARDS gives parents an advantage in helping their children learn, naturally. Chapter by chapter, the authors explore the key areas of development—math, reading, verbal communication, science, self-awareness, and social skills—with an emphasis on the process of learning from a child’s perspective. Armed with a clear understanding of the scientific principles, parents will gradually become better observers of their kids’ behavior and discover when their kids can best profit from casual instruction in natural contexts instead of through drill and practice.

[BekZ]

Thanks Rory for the book rec