Looking for ideas for number activities please

[Mouse]

I have a lo who is coming up to 3. He is really interested in numbers at the moment. A month or so back he started pointing to the numbers & telling me what they were.

I printed out & laminated some number cards & we played various games with them (where is number 6, what's this number? etc). I did big & small cards so we could do matching games etc. He loved it & pretty soon could recognise & name all the numbers 0-10.

I then moved on to counting. I printed off picture cards with the number written at the bottom (ie. 10 cars & a number 10 at the bottom). He could tell me how many cars there were, but I realised it was just from reading the number, not actually counting the cars. I did some more cards, leaving off the number, and tried to encourage him to point to each picture & count it.

At that point he lost interest!

I decided I'd jumped too far ahead, so took it back a step & printed him out a colourful number line. He was happy to move his finger along the line, saying each number as he went. To me this was a more appropriate step and was encouraging him to count in sequence. We're counting all the time anyway (let's do your buttons up, 1,2 ,3, 4 etc), so I know he'll catch on when he's ready.

He loves his number pack (I keep it all in a folder for him) and takes it home each weekend. I haven't put anything in new for a couple of weeks and need some ideas for what else I could put in now. Do I stick to encouraging counting, or switch to the numbers 11-20 and get him recognising those as well? Or what about the number word word recognition (one, two etc)?
Any ideas for number games with bits I can print off?

[dette]

i use number cards like the ones you have made and use them as labels for little piles of things.
just start with 1,2 and 3 and take for example 6 socks or bottle tops and devide them into the right size piles ,count how many and put the number on the top.once he's mastered these then add more numbers.after this you can get him to make the piles himself and choose the number to put on the pile once he,s counted the items

[lisa1968]

I cut out a number to match their age-A4 size-then they collage it or used screwed up tissue paper to cover it.A bit of creativity rather than number games. I do find 'numbers' quite a hard topic to find different activities for.

[loocyloo]

at school the other week, the teacher had a box of those little bags you put washing tablets in the washing machine in, with a number (laminated card) tied to it. the children had to put the right number of objects in the bag. some of the boys really enjoyed this ( these are slightly older boys, but i know my 3 yr old mindee would enjoy it! )

[hectors house]

Number recognition
I play frustration alot with the mindees and today introduced Uno (but without all the trick cards eg: pick up 4, change colour, miss a go), we have a number line displayed and yesterday when playing with new hotwheels track I asked the children to count to a certain number (depending on age) before they pushed car down track, with a more confident 3 year old I asked him to count backwards from 10 - started using number line but then could do it on own. I also buy easy dot to dot books for them.

Counting
Just let him help you with day to day counting tasks - counting out grapes for snacks to make sure everyone has same amount, counting up pieces of puzzle to make sure none are lost. Sometimes they co-operate better if they feel they are being helpful rather than performing to your request.

I have a 17 month old at the moment who isn't saying any recognisable words other than counting words - 3, 4, 5 which are perfectly clear and when he says them he is moving his fingers as if counting, today older children were playing hide and seek and then lo starts saying 3,4,5 so I asked older children to go and hide again as this was clearly what lo wanted!

[The Juggler]

for my little ones, they could count but weren't so aware of number symbols so opposite way round to you.

If he has a fave story or toy (cars/trains) you could use this activity to help him match number symbols with amount - especially if he like gluing?

So just draw a 2 column table with numbers in the first column - large as you can and then cut out pictures to match the number and glue them in (even get him to help with cutting if old enough). Then he can count out and glue the right number of things to match the number so from a story i.e. number of fruits each day in Hungry Caterpillar or if he likes trains use Thomas and friends. So column with numbers 1-5 then glue 1 thomas, 2 Edwards, 3 Percy', 4 Henry's etc.

as you say though, don't worry too much, it seems he likes the idea of counting and the numbers so he might find the above way to slow for him to enjoy his counting/reciting. They usually either get the verbal reciting and actual counting OR the number recognition then move onto the next and then connecting them.

[miffy]

My three year old is loving counting backwards ATM - I printed off a rocket picture with the numbers from 10 down to 1 written at the side of it and we count backwas and forwards using that. Or what about going on a number walk - spotting numbers on road signs, doors, car number plates, bus stops etc

Miffy xx

[Mouse]

Thank you all.

Some fab ideas there that I will be trying out with this & other mindees

[hectors house]

I liked the net bag with a label on idea - any idea where I can get net bags suitable for this, as I don't use washing powder tablets? I think montersorri (spelling!) use sandpaper number shapes for children to run fingers over - has anyone bought these or made their own?