How to Teach Numbers to Toddlers

Teaching numbers is essential to prepare your child for kindergarten. As mathematics acquisition starts early in a child’s development, it is crucial to learn new skills and develop them.

Children are quick learners. Since infancy, children observe their environment. They test, compare, and recognize patterns and shapes.

Therefore, start introducing numbers consistently in their universe and make them part of a daily routine like brushing teeth.

Typically, you can start teaching them numbers very early. As your child grows up and reaches preschool, numbers will not be something new in their life and daily routine.

Remember that children learn better when they have fun, and their attention span is short at a young age. 

Therefore, keep it short and entertaining, and here are some fun activities you can try at home.

Teach Numbers Every Day

Consistency is everything. 

The more frequently you practice and establish a routine, the better.

Therefore, exercise every day with games. 

For instance, go on a scavenger hunt, and ask your toddler to bring “one stuffed animal,” “two books,” “three blocks,” etc.

We do not suggest to go on a scavenger hunt every day. Try once or twice per week. 

Then, try to vary the activities: 

• Take a piece of paper and ask your toddler to draw four flowers of different colors. 
  
• Count the number of cars in the street and ask your child to point at them.
  
• Put blocks of different sizes and colors, ask your child to group them by shape or color, and then count how many blocks of each color or shape they have for each group.
  

There are many activities that you can do with your child. Only imagination is the limit.

Teach Numbers With Songs

You do not need to be the best singer; you need to be a fun one. Therefore, bring on the joy and sing songs like:

• Ten Little Monkeys
  
• One Two Buckle My Shoe
  
• Five Little Ducks
  

If you are tired of singing the same songs, and if you have no idea what to sing, check YouTube, for instance. The platform has thousands of kids’ songs about numbers. 

What is essential is to be consistent and entertaining for your child. 

Do not forget to show the numbers with your fingers. Ask your child to mimic what you do. 

Ultimately, your child will start correlating and associate what they see with what they hear.

Teach The Number of the Day

Do you remember The Count Von Count from Sesame Street? 

That’s the best example of what you should try to do.

You can focus every day on a different number and organize your toddler’s activities accordingly.

Let’s assume you try to teach the number four. Here’s an example of what you can do:

• Draw a number on a paper and have your child color that number. 
  
• Then, have your toddler trace that number using different colors.
  
• Sing a fun song about number four. Make it up if need be.
  
• Take four yellow blocks, two red, and one blue. Mix them up together, and ask your child to collect all yellow blocks and have them count them using their finger.
  
• Go in their bedroom, and have them point at four different toys they love the most.
  

Of course, each child is different, and some exercises may be easier than others. We all have different paces when it comes to learning. It’s not different for your child.

Therefore, do not lose your patience. 

Successes and failures are equally important to learn, and sometimes, it takes more than once before you know a new number.

What Have We Learned?

Children have the immense ability and willingness to learn. 

If you introduce numbers early enough and create routines around learning numbers in a fun way, they will memorize them. 

At an early point in the learning process, repetition and mimicking will help them integrate something new.

Ultimately, with hands-on experiments on various activities, they will make sense of the numbers and understand their meaning. 

At Willowdale Children’s Academy, we use Singapore Math to teach numbers and mathematics. 

Are you interested to learn more about this methodology? Click here.