The series of blogs this month look at ways that parents and caregivers can help little ones learn about numbers. While kindergarten readiness hopes that children can count accurately, at least 1-10, there is another side to the coin: knowing what number goes with how much. Even wee toddlers give High 5’s and can hold up one hand and show 5 fingers but not all kids can count out 5 cars or 5 spoons, etc. This requires lots of practice. And the best way to practice? Play.
Here are some play ideas for exploring the number 5. If your child likes little stuffies, take a quick break from your work and together check if there are 5 stuffies just like 5 fingers. On your next pass by, see if there are 5 cars. Is there a car for each stuffie? Wow, 5 and another 5. For kids that are ready for more challenge, you may want to show how 4 cars and 1 truck can make 5, or 2 yellow blocks and 3 red blocks stack up to make a tower of 5 blocks. Do 5 jumping jacks, put away 5 things, color a picture with 5 colors. Sing about 5: 5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed or 5 Little Speckled Frogs Sat on A Speckled Log. (5 raisins on a celery stick kind of look like bugs.) There’s lots of stories about 5, too. Take 5 for learning and play; it adds up to a whole lot of readiness for kindergarten. High 5 anyone?