Introducing Number Sense to Toddlers
How to introduce numbers to your child in a way they can understand, life updates!!! and more!
Hi! It has been awhile, and this post has been almost three months in the making! A lot of life has happened between when I started writing this post and now. Read the bottom of the newsletter for more updates on that!
I am always amazed at the pace toddlers new ideas, concepts, and language. It’s truly a unique and fascinating time of human development. The more I study about it, the more intriguing I find infants and toddlers to be! Recently, I have been so surprised at how quickly L is learning new words. She regularly says a new handful of words everyday! I was shocked when I counted to three on my fingers a couple of weeks ago and she imitated me saying each of the numbers correctly. Since that time, she has shown interest in counting again and again. I decided to start a little number work with her!
The goal of early numeracy
Interest in counting can vary widely among toddlers, but can emerge as early as 18 months. Typically at that age the counting is just a rote repetition of your counting and doesn’t hold much meaning for the toddler. The goal is to take that language and give it meaning for them. The first step in this process is to learn the concept of one-to-one correspondence, or that each number represents a certain amount of an object.
Start with the concrete concept
In Montessori, we always teach the concrete concept first. So in the case of counting, we start with just three of the same object without numerals to represent the numbers. We begin by having the toddler master transferring the objects one by one into a divided box or tray. In this way, as they count “one, two, three” and place one object in one slot, they learn one-to-one correspondence. (Read more about one-to-one correspondence and the Montessori method for early number sense here)
I didn’t have a three-sectioned divided tray at home, so I took a small cardboard box and divided it into three. It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it worked and held up to rough toddler play! I provided L with three sticks of the same size (from her Lovevery block kit) in a small basket.
Introducing number sense
I began by picking up the divided box and count the sections and placing my finger inside each one as I counted it. Next I picked up one stick at a time and placed it in a section of the box (from right to left) while counting. When I finished, I took them all out one by one and put them back in the basket while counting again. I repeated this process a couple of times.
I then invited L to put the sticks in the box herself. I didn’t correct her as she experimented with counting and remembering to put them in the different sections of the box. A first, she counted them correctly, but put two sticks in the same section of the box leaving one section empty. She was confused by this at first, but quickly corrected herself. After she was finished. I modeled it one more time. She tired again and was able to do it successfully counting and matching each stick to an open section.
I left this activity out on her shelf for quite awhile (a couple of weeks) until I knew she was not interested anymore and ready for a new challenge. I next introduced counting three rings and putting them in matching color cups. L invented her own version of this game counting her balls and matching them to the correct color circle on her ball hammer toy. Now, she counts just about everything (but only until three, the she goes back to one). She will now also grab two things and say “it two”.
Keeping the learning going
Although she seems to be understanding and grasping “one, two, three”, I do not feel she is ready for numbers beyond that. We have tried the correspondence games until the number five, but she is not quite ready yet. The goal to keeping the interest and learning going is to count everything. Count the number of cars on the street, the number of letters in the mail, the number of steps you climb, everything!
Update: she is now at 22.5 months counting to ten in English and Japanese and successfully doing one-to-one correspondence with numbers to five most of the time. She also surprises us sometimes with counting numbers larger than 10 correctly on her own and counting (from three) backwards. Toddlers often seem master a skill one day and seem to forget the next; only to master it again the next!
Life Update!
It has been awhile since I’ve written to you all. My life has been full of many changes. I finished my Masters in Early Childhood Education, started a new job at a great school, am now 7 months pregnant with baby #2, got my drivers license again (long story), and bought a car (finally)! L has also gone through all these changes and more as she is now attending preschool (in the Toddler room) full time, five days a week and spending a couple hours in the afternoons alone with Papa until I get home from work.
L has handled the all the changes the best out of all of us. Other than getting her first bouts of actual sickness (RSV and colds), she has been so steady and has developed a wonderful sense of humor and the very best hug in the world. She is constantly surprising us with her resilience and curiosity. She is also enjoying exploring the world more now that we have car!
We found out baby #2 is a boy(!!) and this pregnancy has been so easy compared to when I was pregnant with L (I was hospitalized twice with her and on bedrest for almost two months at the end). I feel great, have lots of energy, and baby boy is thriving! We cannot wait to welcome him in the next couple of months.
I am hoping to be more consistent in my newsletters now that school is behind me and as I’m looking forward to welcoming baby boy and going on maternity leave! I may not be able to write twice a month anymore, but I will be sending out at least monthly newsletters!
Wishing you and your family a wonderful Fall!