It’s important to teach your children important life skills from early on, and there aren’t many skills that see more daily use than basic counting. Counting is not just a skill in and of itself, but the basis for countless other skills that will develop throughout your child’s life. As children learn and grow through play, it’s important to have a wide array of fun learning games, toys, and activities to teach your kids these all-important skills, so let’s take a look at a few of the best. Here are some creative counting games:
Bottle Cap Number Matching
This game is a simple one, and can be done more or less for free as long as you plan ahead. Whenever you have something like bottled water or a soft drink, save the bottle and the cap. Once you’ve scrounged up enough bottles, separate the bottles and caps. Then, write one number on each cap, and write the corresponding number on each bottle. Then, have your kid try to screw the right caps back onto the right bottle. This is a great way to not just teach the concept of numbers, but how to recognize them in writing, as well as the fine motor skills required to screw on a bottle cap.
Hopscotch
Hopscotch is a playground classic, even for us, and it’s kept on for long enough to be passed down to our kids as well. If your local playground has hopscotch squares painted onto the blacktop, all you have to do is take your kid over there and let them play. If not, though, that’s no trouble at all! All you’ll need to set up your own hopscotch squares on your own patio is a stick of chalk, which can be even better of a learning experience as you teach your kids how to write numbers.
Counting Scavenger Hunt
Similar to the bottle game, you can set up a counting scavenger hunt with nothing other than things you can easily find around the house. Number ten household items from 1-10 and scatter them around the house, then have your child look for them, finding them and bringing them back in numerical order. If you want to up the stakes a bit, you can replace the household items with new toys, with your kid getting to keep every toy that they find in order.
Catchy Counting Songs
Teaching your child a fun counting song can help them remember basic numbers, but it can also teach them even more advanced concepts like basic multiplication. Even if you don’t remember any counting songs from your childhood, the internet is as great of a resource as ever, so do some poking around on YouTube to find one that teaches the skills you want and that your kid enjoys listening to and singing along with.
Classic Game of Uno
Another classic mainstay of family game nights the world over, Uno is also a great way to teach your child to read written numbers. In order to play the game properly, they’ll have to be able to read the numbers and match them with the card currently on the table. Of course, it’s also a great bonding experience that the whole family can enjoy together, so whether or not they learn something new by playing, the game has merit in and of itself.
Snakes and Ladders
Snakes and Ladders has the benefit of not just teaching counting skills, but being a fun and easy-to-understand game in and of itself. To play, your child will have to learn how to count both the number on the die, as well as the number of spaces they get to move their game piece, teaching them to count while having a blast doing it.
Imaginary Grocery Store
If you want to teach your child about numbers and start them early with some basic principles of money management, set up an imaginary grocery store! To do this, you’ll need some fake plastic food, coins and small bills, (real or fake) and a toy cash register. From there, you need to assign a price tag to each “food” item, and then let your child either go shopping or man the register. Either way, they’ll learn more about how to manage their money to buy the things they want while still having the money to buy the things they need.
Looking for more great tips, advice for creative counting game and products to help along your child’s academic development? Feel free to visit our site at ToysCentral today!