This month we’re using New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Noon as the best excuse to practice counting all month.
Learning numbers and how to count readies your child for doing math in the future. Research from Johns Hopkins University suggests that babies may have a pretty sophisticated understanding of numbers even though they are not able to verbalize their knowledge (check out this short video that demonstrates young children’s sensitivity to quantity).
All this research doesn’t mean you need to get out the flashcards! Some of the best advice about teaching your child to count is by counting everything the two of you encounter from toys in house to birds you see outside. Counting can surround your child in sneaky ways through rhymes, songs, and picture books. These are great ways to introduce counting through repetition. We’ll share ever more fun ideas to increase counting each day – no math required.
This topic is a key component of the following early learning domain and goal:
State of Alaska Early Learning Guidelines
Educational Domain: Cognition and General Knowledge
Goal: Children demonstrate knowledge of numbers and counting
