How to To Teach Toddlers to Count

Toddlers have an amazing ability to pick up on most anything, even numbers. Why not take advantage of this talent and get our toddlers a head of the game by counting, an early math skill.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Get some chalk to begin teaching your children early math skills. Number everything outside that you can with chalk. We also have a brick walkway that my toddlers and I have numbered together with chalk, to count them later. The rain washes the numbers away, but that just allows opportunity to number again later.

2. Inside your home, put numbers on everything that is eye level for your toddler to begin teaching them how to count numbers. Not suggesting that you number your televisions and game stations, but I am suggesting hanging numbers on doors and other places that toddlers pass frequently. Use tape to hang shapes with numbers on them. First, take the piece of tape that you are going to use and stick it on the carpeting or your shirt or anything else that can dull out the sticky side of the tape. This is to avoid inadvertently taking paint off the walls, while teaching math skills.

3. In the bedrooms have a chalk board. You can use chalkboard paint on the outsides of closet doors. Toddlers may love having their very own chalkboard. Drawl shapes and then put numbers on the inside of each shape. They may wipe efforts away daily, so plan on rewriting the shapes and numbers on the chalkboard(s) often.

4. Avoid just having numbers randomly placed. While putting the numbers around your home keep them in order remembering that you are trying to get your toddlers to learn to count and early math skills.

5. Sing the numbers. Count while you cook with a song. Toddlers might giggle and try to count in a tune with you. Count while taking jumbo size steps from one room to the next, some toddlers make a train and try out the mini version of this silly way of learning. Finally have fun, they are only little once.

Resources

• How to Get Children To Clean up After Themselves
• How to Get Children To Brush Their Teeth
• How to Transition a Toddler from a Crib to a Toddler Bed
• Abacus picture

[mweise]

on 7/9/2009 Great article! Dugg it!

[karileighk]

on 6/28/2009 Getting toddlers to count is fun and awarding at the same time. *5

[jull14]

on 6/28/2009 Thank so much for writing this beautiful article. As always a great article with so much information. Excellent steps and very easy to follow, thank you so much for helping us learn everyday more. This is a very good article, thanks

[AmyRose]

on 6/28/2009 Very good article on teaching toddlers to count, 5*

[wdk40]

on 6/20/2009 I think we take for granted how well babies can learn. Good job.