In the past several articles, we have been giving toddlers and preschoolers their first lessons in math. We have explored reciting numbers, counting, sorting, matching, and reading written numbers. Today we will talk about ways to teach your preschooler to put those written numbers in order.
Start with a review of number reading. Make sure your child can read the numbers very well before starting this activity. Next, tell her you want to put all the numbers in order, the way you count them. Ask her to help you. "Let's see. If I were counting dolls, the very least number of dolls I could have would be zero. Which number is zero?" Let her hand you the card.
Then ask, "What's the next number I say when I count? Zero.....Oh, you're right. The next number is one. If I had no dolls, and Daddy bought me a new doll, then I would have one doll." (You are sneaking in some addition here.) "Which card has the number one on it?" When she gives you the card, put it next to the zero, with a little space between it and the zero. Lay out the cards from left to right, the same way you read. Always do this so she learns to read from left to right.
You may only want to use five cards at first, until this activity seems easy to her. Guide her through it at first, until you can see she understands what is going on. Then let her take the cards, laid out in a mixed-up group, and line them up herself. Once she can lay out all the cards from one to five without help-and this may take days, weeks or even months-move on to the next step.
After she has laid out the cards in order, ask her to show you how many toys that number represents. Show her that you would put no toys under the number zero. You would put one toy under the number one card. All you are doing here is making sure she associates the written number with actual counting.
Another way to do this is to have her label items with the number. Have her lay out three toy cars and put a number three under them. Have her close her eyes and grab a handful of cars, count them and label how many there are. Be sure she can label groups of items that are not in numerical order. In other words, she might memorize the order and still not get the concept. If she labels three of something, then six and then two, she understands that she is not ordering, but counting. You can have her do this through the house. If you have one refrigerator, she can put a number one on it. Five kitchen chairs? Put a number five on them. She should be able to read these numbers without even a second thought. When she can do these games well, you know she really understands that the written numbers represent real amounts. You can play a quiz game. Make big cards of the numbers. Call out a question and have her hold up the card that shows the right number. "How many people are in our family?" "How old are you?" "How many dogs do we have?"
Make sure your child has completely mastered all of these skills before tackling addition. Remember that the lessons do not need to be long and in fact, it is best if they are short. You want your preschool days to be as much fun as possible. Gradually increase the time you spend on each class, but start with very short lessons.
Have fun!