Numbers for children 2-3 years old. Learning numbers with your child

Very often, parents, when trying to give their child a first idea of mathematics, focus exclusively on ordinal counting or memorizing numbers. Naturally, both are useful activities, however, if you really want to teach your child to count, then you need to introduce him not to numbers, but quantities and not just memorize counting to ten with your child, but help him understand the spoken meanings and develop mathematical thinking. For a child, the words “Four apples” should not be an empty phrase; the child should clearly understand how many apples it is and understand that, for example, four is more than two.

Mathematics for kids. Basic principles

The math games that I want to talk about in this article are best suited for children 2-4 years old (and some even earlier). The main goal of these games is to teach the child to visually recognize a number, to understand which is larger, which is smaller, which are the same, which quantity corresponds to each number, and what will happen if you add one more to three apples. I would like to note that these are games, not lessons. Children at this age will not like it too much if you constantly torture them with questions like “Show me the number 3” “Tell me how many sticks are there?” They need to be interested by unobtrusively adding math problems to everyday story games. I notice the highest interest in my daughter when her favorite toy personally tells her about her problem and asks her for help (I’m talking about the toy, of course).

Don't try to play with big numbers right away! It is enough to limit yourself to 4-5 games. Agree, it is much more attractive to help a child master various operations with numbers not exceeding the number 4 and develop mathematical thinking than to simply learn to count to ten without knowing how to operate with each of these numbers. A child who has mastered operations with small numbers will then easily transfer his skills to large numbers.

So, math games for kids:

1. Ordinal counting in everyday life

First of all, draw your child’s attention to the fact that everything around us can be counted and introduce counting into your everyday life. Count the steps you climb, the cars in front of your house, the spoons before dinner, the pigs in a fairy tale, the stick candles on your sand cake, etc. So gradually the child will remember the sequence “one, two, three...” that you regularly pronounce and will slowly begin to relate it to the quantity he saw. This can be done as early as 1 year.

2. We study the concept of “The same amount”

Here are a few examples of our very first games with quantities (we played them at the age of about 2 years):

We place 2-3 toys at the table, inform the child that today is one of them’s birthday, so all the guests need to be fed. To begin with, we count together how many guests there are and with the words “So, there are only 3 guests, which means we will need 3 plates too,” we count out three plates with the baby. We place them for the guests, check that there is enough for everyone, which means that there are as many , how many toys. Similarly, you can give tasks for distributing spoons or chairs for toys.

Then, in the voice of the doll Masha, we say, “Can I please have 3 mushrooms?” We count out 3 mushrooms for Masha. Then we reason that the frog should be given the same amount so as not to offend him. We count out 3 mushrooms for him too. The concept of “ as many ».

In the game, you can use any available counting material (pine cones, buttons, counting sticks) or store-bought ones ( mushrooms, carrots, tomatoes).

It is not necessary to limit yourself only to the topic of tea drinking; mathematics can be added to any role-playing games. For example, put the same number of houses as there are animals, draw the same number of berries as there are hedgehogs in the picture, etc. The main thing is to harmoniously weave the task into the plot of the game, telling the story that the animals were left without housing, etc.

3. Compare “More-less”

Continuing the theme of the birthday toy, we lay out 2 mushrooms for one of the guests, and 4 for the other, together we think about who has more and who has less. To begin with, we let the child try to determine by eye; if he makes a mistake, we recalculate together.

If the child is already good at comparing similar objects, you can offer him a more difficult task : put in front of him 2 different numbers of objects of different sizes, for example, buttons. For example, we put 3 large buttons and 5 small ones and ask which one has more. At first, kids usually get confused, pointing to large buttons. Your task is to explain that in this problem you are not comparing the size, but the number of buttons.

4. We study the concept of “Zero”

Even the smallest, one-year-old children can easily notice the fact that objects were and ended, and also grasp the moment when this happened. Therefore, having distributed candies, mushrooms and other joys to the toys, you spread your hands in bewilderment and say, “We have nothing left - zero candies.” The concept of “zero”, as a rule, is learned very easily by children.

5. Board games

Board games with dice and chips are one of the best and interesting ways Practice ordinal counting with your child. In addition, by constantly counting the same number of dots on a cube, the baby learns to recognize the number without counting, which is also very useful and will help in the future to easily operate numbers in the mind.

Taisiya and I started playing Board games at 2.5 years old, at this age she could already understand that she needed to play by the rules, there was a sequence of moves, etc. I wrote in detail about all our first board games. Or you can download a walking game made especially for kids.

6. Countdown

Show your child not only forward counting, but also backward counting. So, for example, when putting rings on a pyramid, count as usual, and when disassembling the pyramid, count in the reverse order, thereby showing that the number of rings is decreasing. The same can be done by folding/unfolding something from a box, assembling/disassembling a path (turret) from cubes. This is a very useful game; it prepares the child well for the operation of subtraction.

7. Simple operations with objects: addition and subtraction

No, of course, I won’t write here that it’s time to solve the examples. We will simply unobtrusively, during the game, give the child an elementary and very simplified idea of such mathematical operations as addition and subtraction. Everything is just in game form! If a child finds it difficult or does not want to count, we simply pronounce the conclusion from the game situation ourselves. “There were three candies, they ate one, there were two left.” Here are some examples of games with which you can train your child’s mathematical thinking (let me remind you that so far we only use the smallest numbers in our games - within 4-5):

We take some toy and go with it into the forest in search of berries. For example, we played with a cat. Walking around the room, we found berries and pebbles of two colors under chairs and tables. Well, at the end they counted: “How many orange berries did the cat find? Three. How many yellow ones? Two. Now let's count how many berries he found. Five. It turns out that we collected 2 yellow berries and 3 orange ones, for a total of 5!”

The fixies gathered to repair the chair. They have 3 bolts. Let's calculate whether each fixie has enough bolts. How many more bolts do I need to find?

We transport the cubes in the car to the construction site (let's say 3 pieces). During transportation, one cube falls out. We count how many cubes are left.
We give the bear three candies, he eats two. We count how much he has left.
It is very interesting to play the so-called “hide and seek” game. For example, we draw four apples, then cover one with our palm, how many are left? Then we close two, etc.

8. Number composition

It is very useful to break down numbers into their components with your child (for example, 3 is 2+1, 1+1+1, 3+0). This will help the child with counting in the future. Game options:

Look, you and I have three apples, let's divide them between the bear and the bunny. We will give one apple to the bunny, and two to the bear. Try redistributing apples between toys in different ways, showing different variants number decompositions.

You can attach several clothespins to a hanger, place small toys along the edges and redistribute the clothespins between them, imagining that they are, for example, candies. It turned out to be an excellent replacement for the usual boring accounts. Another option: you can put the bagels on a ribbon and redistribute them in the same way, saying who got how much.

9. Get to know the numbers, establish the relationship between numbers and quantities

When the child has some idea of the quantities, you can begin to introduce numbers. Now, having calculated something, you not only name the number, but also show the corresponding figure. Here are some more options for math games:

We build towers from construction sets or cubes of the appropriate size;

We attach a suitable number of clothespins-hair ( YOU CAN DOWNLOAD HERE our head templates);

We select dominoes with the required number of dots (to diversify the game, you can invite your child to transport dominoes to numbered houses on a typewriter);

We lay out tracks from counting sticks and select suitable numbers - the length of the resulting tracks will help the child understand which number is larger;

We put the required number of matches into the numbered boxes;
We put the required number of cubes into the cars with numbers (the cars can be drawn on paper);
You can also use ready-made solutions, like this one games "Numbers" (Ozon,Labyrinth, My-shop)

or insert frame (Ozon, My-shop,Read)

10. Repeat numbers

To reinforce numbers, games will be useful in which the child needs to find identical numbers and combine them. For example, you can match houses to toys by numbers, place cars in numbered garages, etc.

Or play in the mathematical game "Train Engine" . To do this, draw a steam locomotive on paper or build a steam locomotive from a construction set, numbering the cars. Each passenger, as they approach, will call out the number of their carriage, and let the child seat everyone in their seats.

Books with poems about numbers like “Happy Counting” by Marshak (Ozon, Labyrinth, My-shop). We were lucky and the numbers in the book were exactly the size of our soft numbers, so we overlapped them as we read.

I also really like it “Merry Count” by N. Vladimirova (Ozon, Labyrinth, My-shop), I wrote about him before.

11. Sequence of numbers

In my opinion, before 3 years of age there is no need to focus the child’s attention on the order in which the numbers appear in a number series, so as not to confuse the child while he is forming his idea of quantities. Well, after three children may already be interested in the following mathematical games:

« Baba Yaga mixed up the numbers" The child must put the mixed up numbers in order.
. In essence, this is the same game as the previous one, only more interesting, in my opinion, because by arranging the numbers, the baby can see beautiful picture. Some examples of puzzles can be found DOWNLOAD HERE.

“Name the neighbors of the number.” Having added up the numbers by number, you can ask your child what kind of neighbors, for example, the number 4 has.
Connect the dots by numbers. The easiest number mazes, which are ideal as first ones, in my opinion, are presented in KUMON workbook “Learning to count from 1 to 30” (Ozon, Labyrinth, My-shop)

Well, in conclusion, I would like to cite a few more useful books that will help you teach your child to count.

Zemtsov “Numbers and counting”. Sticker books (Ozon, Labyrinth, My-shop)

The books contain simple tasks for counting and memorizing numbers. The tasks are quite varied; the presence of stickers in the books definitely increases the child’s interest in them. The manuals will be a wonderful help in mastering mathematics.

Felicity Brooks "Playing and Learning Numbers" (Ozon, Labyrinth, My-shop)

Magnetic book-toy “Counting” (Ozon, Labyrinth, My-shop)

Photobook “Learning colors and numbers” (Ozon, Labyrinth, My-shop)

In this book, the child is asked to look for different objects while counting them. An excellent book for practicing conscious counting and attention skills. We didn’t develop an interest in her right away, after about 2.5 years.

So, if you introduce simple mathematics into your everyday game situations with a child from an early age, then this science will be easy for the child. I wish you interesting and intense games!

Studying numbers - necessary activity for children 3–4 years of age. The ability to count will allow your child to easily master the school curriculum. Classes improve visual and auditory memory, help development logical thinking. Parents of preschoolers are required to know how to properly teach their child numbers at 3-4 years old.

What time should you introduce your baby to numbers?

At 3–4 years old, a child should know numbers from 1 to 5. When regular classes some kids master these skills at 2-2.5 years. During this time, they learn to remember numbers; at 3 years old they can already count in direct and reverse order and solve simple problems.

Required math skills for a 4-year-old preschooler:

knowledge of numbers from 0 to 9;
ability to count in forward and reverse sequence;
knowledge of cardinal and ordinal numbers, their correct usage in speech;
the ability to name which number comes “before” and “after”;
identification of numbers by type, skill in writing them correctly;
ability to put in order from 0 to 9 and from 9 to 0.

If a preschooler does not have the necessary skills by the age of 4, it is important to interest him in playful activities and fill the gap.

Where to study?

Often parents believe that there is no need to study with their child at home. This point of view is wrong. In kindergartens, collective mathematics lessons are held, where children learn new information. Because of large quantity For preschoolers, the teacher will not consolidate everyone’s knowledge. This role is assigned to parents.

Coming home, the baby shares with his mom and dad the knowledge he received in kindergarten. The task of parents is not to miss this moment and direct his aspirations in the right direction.

If it is not possible to study at home, there are developmental lessons for the little ones, where an experienced teacher conducts mathematics classes in a playful way, paying attention to each preschooler.

It is important for parents to choose a place for their child’s additional education. The home version is more suitable for shy preschoolers: a familiar environment increases the absorption of information.

Lesson Basics

It is important for children to understand why they study numbers. The parents' task is to explain to the child the need to acquire counting skills. Before starting a math course, he must learn the basics. This can be easily achieved by following the following guidelines.

We count everything. In everyday, habitual communication with a preschooler, it is necessary to count objects at every opportunity, involving him in the process.
Buy counting sticks for home use. When reading a book or watching a cartoon, give your child simple tasks (for example, put aside as many sticks as there are characters in a fairy tale).
Show your child what the numbers look like and lay out the required number of counting sticks.
When a preschooler understands the purpose of numbers, you need to regularly play the “Guess the Number” game. The presenter comes up with a number and gives a hint which numbers are larger and which are smaller. The player's goal is to name it. A parent can be both a leader and a participant. Children love riddles. This develops logical thinking.

Ability to count quickly

With regular classes (in addition to lessons in kindergarten), a preschooler acquires the skill of fast counting. There are exercises to help develop it.

Greater than, less than or equal to learning. The preschooler is asked to choose a card with any number, count the required number of counting sticks, and arrange them into 2 piles (equally). This will introduce the child to the composition of numbers and help him remember what numbers each consists of.
Logic lessons will develop memory and thinking. The parent gives the child riddles that need to be guessed. This method involves mental functions. After such charging, the numbers are easy to remember.

Reinforcing the material learned

The acquired knowledge needs constant repetition. Effective method- invite the child to play at school, where he is the teacher and the parent is the student.

The preschooler tells everything he has learned. Mom asks leading questions. This exercise will help identify gaps in mathematical knowledge and compensate for them. If he stumbles on the number 3, then next time and we pass it.

Healthy interest

It is important for your child to show a desire to study mathematics. It is unacceptable to force someone to study. It is important for parents to instill in him a healthy interest. All lessons should be conducted in a playful way. It is advisable to introduce incentives. This will serve as motivation to further acquire knowledge.

Duration of classes

At 3–4 years old, preschoolers do not have perseverance and quickly get tired doing the same thing. The correct lesson length at this age is 30 minutes. If the lesson lasts longer, take a break for tea or exercise. In these cases, it is divided into 2 blocks with “related” tasks. A break will help kids understand what they have learned and consolidate it in the next part of the lesson.

Cramming will not help develop math skills. To count correctly, a preschooler needs understanding.
Home studies provide an opportunity to quickly and easily consolidate the material received.
It is unacceptable to force a preschooler to do math. It is better to develop a healthy interest.
All lessons for children should be carried out only in a playful way, which will improve the absorption of information.

Author of the article: Laukhina Ekaterina

The active development of a child should occur with early years life, so at the age of 3 it is worth starting to learn numbers, using various games, manuals, and teaching materials for this purpose. Depending on the abilities of a particular child, you can master counting up to 10 or even up to 100, the main thing is that everything is clear to the baby and he enjoys the lessons.

Best age

There is a well-known phrase “after three it’s too late.” Indeed, scientists have proven that children aged 2.5-3 years are distinguished by a unique ability to remember, which weakens with age. Therefore, three-year-olds are quite capable of making their first journey into the world of mathematics and learning numbers, this will help their development and will be an excellent method of preparing for school. In addition, working with didactic materials, for example with Cuisenaire rods, helps improve fine motor skills, which, in turn, has a beneficial effect on speech.

That is why the first lessons in arithmetic can be taught as early as 3 years old. However, if the child is not yet ready for this, it is worth giving him time and delaying the start of lessons until he is 4-5 years old.

Rules for organizing classes

To ensure that familiarization with numbers does not turn into a “crash” for your child, you should use the following operating principles.

Learning through play. Regular guests in classes should be toys, dolls, and fictional fairy-tale characters.
Praise is the best motivation, but you should not scold your child. It is important for parents to remember that the child does not understand why adults are unhappy with him, because he really tried. This attitude can forever kill his desire to learn. Therefore, you should forget about strictness.
Classes should be conducted continuously, so you can place large bright cards with numbers and number series on the wall in the baby’s room. The main thing is that the pictures should contain not only the number itself, but also the quantity it denotes. For example, a deuce and two oranges.
Combine different types activity. Thus, modeling figures-numbers from dough or plasticine not only helps them assimilate, but also promotes the development of fine motor skills.
You should not overload your baby with new knowledge; for one day, learning one new number is enough. When he has learned to clearly imagine that 1 is one object, and 7 is seven, he can begin to learn to count.

Following these simple rules will help parents not only pass on useful knowledge to their child, but also enjoy the activity itself and the communication.

Stages of the learning process

Teaching a child numbers is not easy; this matter should be approached carefully and seriously - work should be structured in such a way as to follow the logic “from simple to complex.”

Several stages of work can be distinguished.

Acquaintance. The parent prepares the material in advance: a card showing, for example, a one or a two, and selects the required number of identical objects. After this, he explains that “today we are getting acquainted with the number “One”, it means one object. Look, there’s only one bear.” How many bears do you see?
Memorization. Offering your child various tasks that will help him remember what a unit looks like and what it means. It's okay to help him a little. Tasks should be of two types: first, those that help correlate a number with a specific quantity, and then those aimed at memorizing appearance numbers.
Consolidation. The next “portion” of tasks that the child must complete completely independently.
New material.

You should emphasize the connection with the past, show one bear and ask how many bears the child sees, then show the second one and say that there are now two bears. You should not overload the child; familiarization with each subsequent number should be carried out only when the previous one has been well mastered. If parents do not have the opportunity to buy the same toys, cards, candies, fruits, and vegetables will come to the rescue. When deciding where to start, the exercises must be selected in such a way that each of them is accessible to the baby.

Classes with didactic materials

Due to their variety, games with specially designed sets, such as Cuisenaire sticks, are suitable for children both 3 years old and 5 years old. You can choose those options that best suit your baby’s developmental level.

For kids, tasks using the following templates are suitable.

Find three yellow sticks.
How many sticks am I showing?
Find two blue sticks and four yellow ones. Which ones are there more?
The parent lays out a square of sticks and then asks: How many sticks did I use to create the shape? The opposite task is also possible: create a figure using only 5 (or any other number) of sticks.

The mother shows the card, the child’s task is to understand what number is depicted on it and find its pair - another card on which the required number of objects is drawn.
Then vice versa - the mother chooses a card, for example, with two bears, the child must find a pair for it - “2”.
Mom shows a card with three hares and asks the child to find in the apartment the number of objects shown in the picture. A preschooler can bring her three apples.

Expert's Opinion

Tanya Okhrimenko, educational psychologist: It’s great to teach numbers in a game with your child. And you can do this not only at home. For example, walking up the stairs and counting the steps. The main thing is that if the child does not remember them, do not worry, let a little time pass and everything will work out for him. For example, what a child memorizes for weeks at 3 years old, at 5 years old he will be able to remember in a matter of minutes if his “cognitive interest” awakens.

You can buy such cards or make your own.

For preschoolers who have a good understanding of the first ten, you can also use Zaitsev’s number tape, which is a series of numbers from 1 to 99. You can place it on the wall so that the manual is always before your eyes. Tasks may be different.

An adult describes a number: two tens, three ones. The child's task is to understand that we're talking about about 23, and show the number on the tape.
Whose number is greater? Mom and child each take one card with numbers written on it. The child must understand which number has the greater value, and then find both on the tape.
Find the age of each family member on Zaitsev’s tape.

All this will help to form a correct understanding of numbers in preschoolers.

Variety of exercises

There are a large number of exercises that will help a 3-year-old child become familiar with numbers, remember what they look like and what quantity they mean. Some of them can be used at the age of 4 years. You need to start with what the child knows well.

Sample. The mother puts a dish in front of the child on which there are fruits or candies and asks him to collect, for example, three pieces (for example, “give mom three candies”). The second version of the task is for the mother to put aside a certain amount of sweets and ask the child to count them, and then say how many sweets are in the pile.
Find the number. An adult asks a preschooler to show him all the units that are presented on a pre-prepared poster. This will help the baby remember what the number looks like.
Find a pair. The parent prepares two series of pictures: some show large numbers, others show illustrations for fairy tales familiar to children. For example, two Ivans, three bears, seven Simeons, and so on. The child’s task is to match the picture and the number.
Count your fingers(after meeting the five).
Thematic game "Houses". The parent draws a certain number of houses on a piece of paper in advance and asks the child to bring so many toys so that they can all be “populated” and not a single empty house is left.
Game "Mushroom Picking". The parent places “mushrooms” (pictures, cubes) in the room in advance, the child takes a basket with him and goes out to collect, finding the first one, he says “one”, the second “two”, and so on.

There are a huge variety of games, so you should offer your child something new every day. You can also study at the computer, asking your child to count the number of objects on the screen.

Using different forms of work

To make it easier for your child to remember numbers, it is important to visualize each of them. There are several ways to do this.

Print out large pictures depicting the material being studied, and it is desirable that each number looks interesting and unusual (for example, a two in the form of a snake). Invite the child to color the picture with bright pencils, felt-tip pens, and paints.
Another similar task is a coloring page that depicts a designated quantity (for example, five kittens) with a five next to it. The child colors the picture and the number, gradually memorizing it. Over time, the task can be complicated: there is only a certain number of objects in the picture (4 apples), the baby colors them and tells the parent how many there are and what number needs to be entered.
The child will be happy to complete this task: he will look for familiar numbers everywhere - on the street in the numbers of houses, buses, cars, on billboards. Impatient parents will be annoyed by this desire, but wise mothers and fathers themselves will offer the child a fun task - who will find the most twos or ones during the walk. And, of course, the adult must lose.

In order for your child to quickly grasp the basics of counting, you should constantly recite counting rhymes to him, for example: “One-two-three-four-five, we’re going for a walk with you.” Such a simple text can be recited before each walk; after a few times the child will be able to repeat it himself. Board games will also be useful: by throwing the dice and counting the required number of steps along the playing field, the child will quickly learn to count.

Learning numbers with children at 3-4 years old is a very real task, but you will have to show your imagination, offering the little ones new options for exercises. Patience is also extremely important, because it will not be possible to implement your plans the first time - you may have to devote several sessions to a certain number. And this is normal, because each baby has its own level of development.

Mathematics for kids. Basic principles

The math games that I want to talk about in this article are best suited for children 2-4 years old (and some even earlier). The main goal of these games is to teach the child to visually recognize a number, to understand which is larger, which is smaller, which are the same, which quantity corresponds to each number, and what will happen if you add one more to three apples. I would like to note that these are games, not lessons. Children at this age will not like it too much if you constantly torture them with questions like “Show me the number 3” “Tell me how many sticks are there?” They need to be interested and unobtrusively add math problems to their everyday ones. I notice the highest interest in my daughter when her favorite toy personally tells her about her problem and asks her for help (I’m talking about the toy, of course).

Don't try to play with big numbers right away! It is enough to limit yourself to 4-5 games. Agree, it is much more attractive to help a child master various operations with numbers not exceeding the number 4 and develop mathematical thinking than to simply learn to count to ten without knowing how to operate with each of these numbers. A child who has mastered operations with small numbers will then easily transfer his skills to large numbers.

So, math games for kids:

1. Ordinal counting in everyday life

2. We study the concept of “The same amount”

Here are a few examples of our very first games with quantities (we played them at the age of about 2 years):

In the game you can use any available counting material (cones, buttons, counting sticks) or purchased ones (various mushrooms, carrots, tomatoes; here's another example chic set).

You don’t have to limit yourself to just the topic of tea drinking; mathematics can be added to any theme. For example, put the same number of houses as there are animals, draw the same number of berries as there are hedgehogs in the picture, etc. The main thing is to harmoniously weave the task into the plot of the game, telling the story that the animals were left without housing, etc.

3. Compare “More-less”

Continuing the theme of the birthday toy, we lay out 2 mushrooms for one of the guests, and 4 for the other, together we think about who has more and who has less. To begin with, we let the child try to determine by eye; if he makes a mistake, we recalculate together.

If the child is already good at comparing similar objects, you can offer him a more difficult task : put in front of him 2 different numbers of objects of different sizes, for example, buttons. For example, we put 3 large buttons and 5 small ones and ask which one has more. At first, kids usually get confused, pointing to large buttons. Your task is to explain that in this problem you are not comparing the size, but the number of buttons.

4. We study the concept of “Zero”

Even the smallest, one-year-old children can easily notice the fact that objects were and ended, and also grasp the moment when this happened. Therefore, having distributed candies, mushrooms and other joys to the toys, spread your hands in bewilderment and say, “We have nothing left - zero candies.” The concept of “zero”, as a rule, is learned very easily by children.

5. Board games

Board games with cubes and chips are one of the best and most interesting ways to practice ordinal counting with your child. In addition, by constantly counting the same number of dots on a cube, the baby learns to recognize the number without counting, which is also very useful and will help in the future to easily operate numbers in the mind.

Taisiya and I started playing board games at 2.5 years old, at this age she could already understand that you need to play according to the rules, there is a sequence of moves, etc. I wrote in detail about all our first board games. Or you can download a walking game made especially for kids.

6. Countdown

7. Simple operations with objects: addition and subtraction

No, of course, I won’t write here that it’s time to solve the examples. We will simply unobtrusively, during the game, give the child an elementary and very simplified idea of such mathematical operations as addition and subtraction. Everything is just in a playful way! If a child finds it difficult or does not want to count, we simply pronounce the conclusion from the game situation ourselves. “There were three candies, they ate one, there were two left.” Here are some examples of games that can be used to train a child’s mathematical thinking (let me remind you that so far we only use the smallest numbers in our games - within 4-5):

The fixies gathered to repair the chair. They have 3 bolts. Let's calculate whether each fixie has enough bolts. How many more bolts do I need to find?

We transport the cubes in the car to the construction site (let's say 3 pieces). During transportation, one cube falls out. We count how many cubes are left.
We give the bear three candies, he eats two. We count how much he has left.
It is very interesting to play the so-called “hide and seek” game. For example, we draw four apples, then cover one with our palm, how many are left? Then we close two, etc.

8. Number composition

It is very useful to break down numbers into their components with your child (for example, 3 is 2+1, 1+1+1, 3+0). This will help the child with counting in the future. Game options:

Look, you and I have three apples, let's divide them between the bear and the bunny. We will give one apple to the bunny, and two to the bear. Try to redistribute the apples between the toys in different ways, showing different options for decomposing the number.

9. Get to know the numbers, establish the relationship between numbers and quantities

We build towers from construction sets or cubes of the appropriate size;

We attach a suitable number of clothespins-hair ( YOU CAN DOWNLOAD HERE our head templates);

We select dominoes with the required number of dots (to diversify the game, you can invite your child to transport dominoes to numbered houses on a typewriter);

We lay out tracks from counting sticks and select suitable numbers - the length of the resulting tracks will help the child understand which number is larger;

We put the required number of matches into the numbered boxes;
We put the required number of cubes into the cars with numbers (the cars can be drawn on paper);
You can also use ready-made solutions, like this one games "Numbers" (Ozon, Labyrinth, My-shop)

or insert frame (Ozon, My-shop,Read)

10. Repeat numbers

I also really like it “Merry Count” by N. Vladimirova (Ozon, Labyrinth, My-shop), I wrote about him before.

11. Sequence of numbers

« Baba Yaga mixed up the numbers" The child must put the mixed up numbers in order.
. In essence, this is the same game as the previous one, only more interesting, in my opinion, because by arranging the numbers, the baby can see a beautiful picture. Some examples of puzzles can be found DOWNLOAD HERE.

“Name the neighbors of the number.” Having added up the numbers by number, you can ask your child what kind of neighbors, for example, the number 4 has.
Connect the dots by numbers. The easiest number mazes, which are ideal as first ones, in my opinion, are presented in KUMON workbook “Learning to count from 1 to 30” (Ozon, Labyrinth, My-shop)

Well, in conclusion, I would like to cite a few more useful books that will help you teach your child to count.

Zemtsov “Numbers and counting”. Sticker books (Ozon, Labyrinth, My-shop)

Magnetic book-toy “Counting” (Ozon, Labyrinth, My-shop)

Photobook “Learning colors and numbers” (Ozon, Labyrinth, My-shop)

So, if you introduce simple mathematics into your everyday play situations with your child from an early age, then this science will be easy for your child. I wish you interesting and intense games!

Taisiya and I continue to slowly expand the repertoire of our mathematical games, so I think there will be a continuation of this article soon. Subscribe to blog updates so you don't miss out ( Email, Instagram, In contact with, Facebook). Oh, and by the way, don’t forget to read the article about studying geometric shapes, because the development of spatial thinking is also an integral part of mathematics for kids:

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