Many children learn best when they are using their sense of touch. Let children touch the items they have been counting. This will help them develop a sense for numbers.
You can also use number cards. Lift a number up, say its name out loud, and then ask each child to find the same number in his or her set of cards. Have each child practice saying its name.
Try not to move on until you are sure that each child understands. It’s best to master these numbers one at a time.
Dice, dominoes, and cards with dots or points may also work well. For best results, try letting the children draw the visuals themselves.
Be creative and entertaining! Tell the children that the number 1 has a skinny line for a body and then a forward slash for a big nose. A little bit of silliness and fun goes a long way to cementing the numbers into a child’s memory.
Help children understand sequencing by having them sort number cards into the appropriate order, or by counting incorrectly and letting them point out your mistakes.
building a tower of cubes. Select a certain number or a number you are currently discussing, and create of tower made of that many cubes. create stairs. Using cubes, make towers and sort them by size. First a single cube, then, next door, two cubes together, then, next to that, three cubes. This will help reinforce sequencing and the connection to physical size and amounts. playing board games. Many board games require children to recognize the number of dots shown on the dice and then count the appropriate spaces to move forward.
You can also use this technique to teach the concept of equality. Sometimes, make the two groups equal – five beans in each group, ten cubes in each group, or whatever. Let children discover this, and explain what it means.
