This morning, from the window of the bus, I got to see lots of pumpkin decorations in store displays. While there were other things for fall and Halloween, I tried to pick out only the big, round orange flashes. I was so busy looking that I almost missed my stop. It gave me an idea for this post — counting pumpkins.
Counting is a kindergarten readiness skill and also one that children develop at an early age. Math activities will certainly be part of the lessons and play at kindergarten but the more experiences kids have with numbers before arriving at school the better will be their foundation. If one of the activities on your list today is going somewhere, your child can count pumpkins as you go along.
While kids may say numbers in the right order, that does not mean they understand about counting. First, children need to learn that one item goes with one number. Lots and lots of practice is needed just counting in order for kids’ brains to make this connection. Because children develop at different rates some will count higher than others but they can all practice counting as they develop their readiness for kindergarten. How many pumpkins did you count?