Learning how to count is much more than just a needed step to learning math. For the little ones, as they learn to count, they also develop a variety of skills helpful in many aspects of their cognitive development.
Counting is a result of number awareness, and it’s the first approach to recognize all the numbers in English. This puts children closer to identifying the numbers visually and by their names.
Additionally, recognizing patterns, sorting, and classifying items, are more advanced concepts that children also acquired while learning to count.
How Do You Teach A Child How To Count?
Usually, learning begins at early stages in life, and in an almost indiscernible way, through nursery rhymes, bedtime stories, songs, and even daily conversation at home.
According to research conducted by Professor Michael Siegal, at the Department of Psychology of the University of Sheffield, even toddlers are able to recognize basic arithmetics, and they can learn how to count even at such a young age.
The study found that 18-month-old kids start showing interest in correct counting sequences shown in videos for kids. Also, the study pointed out that toddlers are more prone to learn by counting events by being exposed to them.
However, before properly learning how to count, the first step in the right direction would be learning the numbers in English.
Learning The Numbers Through Videos
Videos are one of the best activities to teach the numbers, more so those with real characters that children find friendly and relatable.
In this educational video for kids, Miss Loni will introduce the numbers from 1 to 5 to your little one.
- First, they’ll be able to see Miss Loni, the teacher, accompanied by the number “1”.
- Then, a second image of the teacher appears, this time with the number “2” on top of her.
- Next, the same happens for the numbers “3”, “4”, and “5”.
As the teachers appear on the screen, children will get to count how many of them they can see. This is a visual way to associate the number with the quantity it represents.
This is a helpful association since the connection between how many objects there are in a group of items and the language used to count, known as number words, can take its time to be created.
As your little one sees the video, make sure to practice together counting in English. Help them with the concept of conservation of quantity, by talking about how the numbers remain the same unless a teacher is added to the screen.
You can then take these ideas to practice counting the numbers at home using common objects like fruits, toys, or even your family members.
This is a fun way to practice basic math skills for kids while also learning English!
