Counting to ten
Maths · Early Years · The School
Touch and count
Put five toys in a line. Touch each one as you say a number: one, two, three, four, five. Touching stops you counting the same toy twice. The counting rule: one touch, one number, never skip, never repeat.
The last number wins
When you finish counting — one, two, three, four, five — the LAST number tells you how many toys there are: five! Grown-ups call this the cardinal rule. Ask: "how many?" after every count until the answer pops out without recounting.
Number spotting
Numbers hide everywhere: on doors, buses, clocks, remote controls, birthday cards. Hunt for a 3 today. Then a 7. Can you find your age? Seeing numbers in the world teaches you that counting is not just a game — it is how the world organises itself.
Put six buttons in a line. Touch and count: one, two, three, four, five, six. Six! Now MIX THEM UP into a heap and count again, touching each one and pushing it aside so you know which you have done: one, two, three, four, five, six. Still six. Nothing was added and nothing taken away, so the answer could not change — and pushing each counted button aside is the trick that stops you counting one twice. Try it with eight.