“Counting Counters (one set to 20)”
KNPIG ID #A 3301.0
What's this activity about?
Using anything from around the house, your child will work to tell how many things (within 20 items).
What materials do we need?
20 of any type of counter: pennies, bingo markers, oyster crackers, dry beans, etc.
How do we play?
Randomly arrange any amount of counters on a flat surface and have your child count how many.
Where’s the Math?
There is a lot of math in this game that goes along with what your child is learning in school. Being able to count objects in the correct sequence is an important skill to master before moving onto addition and subtraction. Your child is also learning one-to-one correspondence between a number in a sequence and an item counted, and that the last number name said tells the number of objects counted. All of these skills are the foundation to addition and subtraction mastery.
Things to Think About:
As always when working with children, be patient. Your child is building a foundation for addition and subtraction by practicing counting visible items. Try to notice how they are counting: pointing directly to each object, using their fingers or bobbing their heads. Ask your child how they are coming up with the total and discuss where they might be hitting roadblocks. This game is great way to relate math to real life. Make the connections while they are young and it will be easier for them to see the connection when working with more difficult math concepts later on. Ask your child to count groups of items and tell how many there are in all. When your child has mastered this skill they are ready to start combining groups in Counting Counters (to 20).
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