With these 5 minute counting activities I created, our Little Mr. was able to count to 1000 at the age of 4. I didn't start actively working on teaching him how to count to 20 until he was 3 turning 4 already though, so I think if I had started earlier, he potentially would have been able to count to 1000 at the age of 3. Using what I know now, I was able to teach our Copycat how to count to 20 at the age of 2, about a year before our Little Mr. could. Unfortunately I didn't take any videos of Little Mr. doing these Counting to 1000 activities, but I hope to do so with the Copycat, so I'll update this post when I do. The Copycat still has a lot of understanding to develop, but we'll see how long it takes him to be able to get to 1000!
My motivation for initially wanting to teach my 4 year old how to count to larger numbers was because his Math activity was starting to ask him questions about larger numbers, so I ended up creating these Counting activities to help him with counting. After he mastered counting, I just continued to use this 5-minute timeslot to create a math related activity to help him with whatever he was struggling with in his Math activity.
Activity 1: Counting by tens to 100
DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES REACHED: Can identify numbers 1-20 (preferably they can count up to 10 objects as well)
DURATION: 1-3 minutes
MATERIALS USED:
Whiteboard or paper with the tens numbers written down: 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
1a) Introduce the tens numbers to them.
Count to 100 by tens while pointing at each number as you say it, and pausing after each number to let them repeat the number after you: Point to 10 and say "ten", then look at them to encourage them to repeat after you "ten". Then point to 20 and say "twenty", and look at them to encourage them to also say "20" and so on.
REPETITIONS: Repeat this at least 3 times (you saying the all the tens numbers for them to hear while pointing at the corresponding number, and your child trying for themselves).
1b) Encourage them to count in tens themselves.
After a few days, your child will be familiar with the tens numbers as they've been listening to you and repeating after you. In this next version of the activity, for the first repetition:
* Do the same thing as 1a above where you say the tens number and they repeat it. This is to just remind them of each number since they last heard it a day or so ago.
Then for the next two or more repetitions:
* Try pointing to the tens numbers but waiting for them to say the number before you do (instead of them repeating it after you). If they forgot, help them by reminding them what number it is.
Once your child is consistently able to count in tens by themselves after hearing you do it for the first repetition, for the next session, see if he can count in tens without hearing you count in tens first that day. Eventually they'll be able to count in tens by themselves!
With the Little Mr. I technically taught him how to count in tens after teaching him to count from 1-100 already, but I think it would have been easier to teach the 10s first, so that's what I tried with Copycat:
(I used this method to also teach Little Mr. how to count in 100's, 5's and in 2's: see activities number 3 and 4 below.)
Activity 2: Differentiating between the tens and teens numbers
DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES REACHED: Can identify numbers 1-20 and count in 10's
DURATION: 2-5 minutes
MATERIALS USED:
10's numbers (10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100) and teens numbers (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20) either written down or in a book
After learning to count in tens, I noticed that Copycat would say "thirty" instead of "thirteen" when counting to 20, so I started to work with him to identify these as different numbers.
2a) Point out the difference between similar sounding numbers.
At first, point to at a pair of similar numbers (thirteen and thirty, fourteen and forty, fifteen and fifty, etc) and say their names out loud. Really enunciate the difference in sounds as you point: say "thir-TEEN" and "thir-TY". Have them say both numbers as well. If it helps, you can also tell them that the "teen" numbers have a "1" and the tens numbers have a "0".
For each 5-minute activity, I focused on 3-4 similar sounding pairs. Once Copycat understood the differences between 13/14/15 and 30/40/50, I moved onto 16/17/18/19 and 60/70/80/90.
2b) Ask them to identify random teen numbers as well as tens numbers.
After they are familiar with the differences between the similar sounding numbers, point at random teen and tens numbers (eg. 50, 13, 17, 60, etc) and see if they can identify each one correctly when they are not paired up. I also pointed to some single digit numbers now and then to make sure he wasn't confusing those either.
Activity 3: Counting from 1 to 100
DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES REACHED: Can identify numbers 1-20
DURATION: 2-5 minutes
MATERIALS USED:
Optional: a book with the numbers 1-100
3a) Hearing all the numbers from 1-100.
When I brushed Little Mr.'s teeth every night, I would count to 120 (you can choose to do just 100; the reason I did 120 is so we would brush his teeth for about the recommended 2 minutes). This way, he repeatedly heard me counting to 100 every day.
3b) Seeing all the numbers from 1-100.
We counted to 100 together every night as one of his bedtime books was a counting book that had the numbers 1-100 in it. For the first week or so I would just point to each number as I said it, and after a while I would pause after pointing to the numbers to see if he wanted to count before I did, which he did. Eventually he was able to count to 100 by himself while I pointed at each number for him. This was easier than counting without seeing the numbers as he already knew his tens numbers, so seeing the next tens number helped him remember which tens number was next (whereas when he counted without seeing the numbers, he would sometimes forget which tens number came next).
3c) Explaining how to count from 1-100.
With Copycat, in addition to seeing the numbers 1-100 every night, he would count to 100 with me during the day in one of his 5-minute activities. If your child is old enough (like Little Mr., who was 3.5-4 years old), you can explain that after each tens number (twenty, thirty, forty, etc), we say the tens number (eg. "twenty") and the numbers 1 through 9 (eg. "one") for "twenty one", all the way up to twenty nine. And then you say the next tens number (thirty), and do the same. For Copycat, who was only 2 at the time, he just instinctively knew to say the ones number after whatever tens number preceded it as he had heard me count to 100 many times before already.
When we would count to 100 together, I would lag behind him, encouraging him to say the number first and confirming he was right by repeating any numbers he got correct. If he ever hesitated on the next number, clearly unsure what came next, then I would say the next number before him to remind him. When you get to the point where he is able to count to 100 while saying every number before you say it, for the next session see if he can count to 100 all by himself without you counting with him. In his last days as a 2-year-old, he got it!
Activity 4: Counting in 100's to 1000
DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES REACHED: Can count to 100
DURATION: 1-3 minutes
MATERIALS USED:
Whiteboard or paper with the tens numbers written down: 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
Repeat the methods used in 1a and 1b above to teach your child to count in 100's:
4a) Introduce the hundreds numbers to them by pointing to each one and having them repeat after you.
4b) Encourage them to count in 100's themselves by pointing and pausing to get them to say the number first.
Activity 5: Optional - Counting by 5's and 2's
DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES REACHED: Can count to 100
DURATION: 1-3 minutes
MATERIALS USED:
Whiteboard marker or pencil/pen
A printed/laminated or written number square: Write down all the numbers between 1-100 and circle just the 5's to show that the other numbers are still there, but you can just count faster in 5's (I actually made this laminated number square to help him count in groups of different sizes for his math activity: while teaching him to count in 5's I didn't have this yet, so I drew this out by hand on his whiteboard).
Number square: ours is laminated so it can be reused with a white board marker:
Counting by 5's
To help my son with telling the time, I decided to teach him how to count in 5's. I did this the same way I taught him how to count in tens (activity number 1 above).
First I explained that after each tens number (twenty, thirty, forty, etc), we say the 10 number (eg. "twenty") and "five", so in this case "twenty five" (with the exception of number 15).
Then just like Activity 1a), for each 5 minute session, count to 100 by 5's while pointing at each circled number as you say it. Then ask them to repeat it, and do it at least 2 more times.
Then just like 1b), Once they've heard and repeated the 5's numbers for several sessions, have them listen and repeat after you the first time, but after that point and encourage them to say the 5's number before you. If they forget, help them by reminding them what number it is. Repeat this at least 3 times.
Once your child is consistently able to count in 5's by themselves after hearing you do it, for the next session, see if he can count in 5's without hearing you first. Eventually they'll be able to count in 5's by themselves, and I was able to move onto Stage 4 of teaching him to tell time on an analog clock.
Counting by 2's
To complement his Elephant math activity, I decided to also teach my son how to count in 2's to help him count quicker during his Math activity. I taught him exactly the same way as I taught him to count in 5's above, so just repeat the activity above with 2's instead of 5's.
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