Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Toddler Activity #5: Counting with Bowls

My son is 22 months old, so we have been talking a lot about numbers and attempting to count with him.  I came up with this activity while thinking about the various way he could learn his numbers through visual recognition and comprehensive counting.

Things you'll need:
  • Plastic or Styrofoam bowls
  • Sharpie or Marker
  • Multiple objects that can fit inside the bowls (we used pom poms from Target's dollar section)
I labeled each bowl with the numbers 1 through 10 and added the same number of dots corresponding with the number on each bowl.  I wrote them on the inside and outside of the bowl.


I, then, assisted Bennett with placing the same number of balls (while counting aloud) inside the corresponding bowl.  Be sure to give them the freedom to explore, realizing that your child may not want to place the number of balls in the bowl that you desire.  B did really well counting with me the first time through, but then he wanted to explore a little more freely.



Then, I flipped the bowls upside down and hid the corresponding number of balls inside each bowl.  I said the number aloud while encouraging B to flip the bowl over.  Once he flipped it we counted the balls together.


The key is repetition.  Keep saying the numbers over and over and counting aloud even if your child does not cooperate with filling the bowls or flipping them.  They will eventually catch on.  Plus, most of the time it is just fun to do something new. 


Bennett really enjoyed this activity and will often ask to play with the balls.  If you complete it at home, I would love to hear how it goes.


Tip #12:  When teaching your child letters, numbers, and/or colors repetition along with visual input makes a huge difference.  Find something they enjoy (ie. balls, pictures of trains, small dinosaurs, blocks) and use them to count, identify color, and name with various letters of the alphabet.


Links to Toddler (18-24 Month) Activiites




9 comments:

Amanda said...

Fun times! He will be counting in no time. Emmy learned to count because every time I gave her some Welch's fruit snacks (her fave), we would line them up and count them before we ate them. Even now, she will sometimes say, "I want some fruitneys! 1,2,3,4,5!"

Courtney said...

I seriously love this post! Pinned and shared on FB!! Such a great idea!! I'm totally going to do this with Emma!! Thank you!!

Julie@teachinggoodeaters said...

Wow- What a wonderfully put together activity!! I love the guided exploration and the fact that there was more than one way to approach the activity. I will need to give this a try!

localchika2 said...

I LOVED your guest post at Money Saving Mom so I jumped over to your blog to see if you had any ideas for a 22 month old. I am so happy I did because the first post I read was about the number counting with a 22 month old! Thank you so much! I'm gonna try it today!

localchika2 said...

This is fantastic! Thank you so much for the idea! I already tried it with my son and he loved it. Success!

Thanks so much :)

Unknown said...

thank you so much for these ideas!!!!!!

Dianna@KennedyAdventures said...

we love. love, LOVE pompoms around here! Another thing you can try is transferring the pom poms with tongs or a spoon. Keeps my kids busy for hours!

Snapshotsofhappiness said...

How fun! I will have to give this a try with my daughter.

Unknown said...

Such a great idea! I love this one!