Counting objects is a vital skill that we practice all year long in kindergarten. Though seemingly simple, there are a lot of steps involved in counting and the developmental pace is longer than one might think toward obtaining mastery. These are the foundational skills that we work on developing all year long. They are the necessary components to counting items:
We practice two ways of counting objects:
Counting objects lays a very important foundation for addition and subtraction. Once we are certain students have mastered counting one group of objects, we can move on to counting two groups of objects and the demonstration of addition and subtraction through manipulatives (cubes, counters, etc.).
Have your child practice counting items at home! Here are some important things to remember:
Last, but by no means least- We assess students all year long to be sure they have indeed mastered counting items. Even after seeing mastery, it is still a very important skill to practice and maintain. Successfully completing this task once does not mean that students will be successful every time, which is why we place such an emphasis on this foundational mathematical practice.
- 1 to 1 Correspondence: This means each item counted (or touched) is matched to one (and only one) number word said. Often times we see children count the same item twice or skip an item altogether.
- Number Word Sequence: If a child does not know the order of the number words, they will especially struggle when counting objects, as they are required to utilize both skills simultaneously. If a child skips over "13" for example, this could be because they forgot their number words (especially in those tricky teens!)
- Cardinality: The last number word said represents the total quantity. "1, 2, 3, 4, 5." "There are 5 cookies."
We practice two ways of counting objects:
- Counting a Collection: Counting a pile of items and telling the total number of items.
- Establishing a Quantity or "Get Me": Given a larger quantity, count out a set amount. For example, given a pile of 21, you may say, "Get me 13." This is particularly difficult because of the child needing to remember what number to stop counting at.
Counting objects lays a very important foundation for addition and subtraction. Once we are certain students have mastered counting one group of objects, we can move on to counting two groups of objects and the demonstration of addition and subtraction through manipulatives (cubes, counters, etc.).
Have your child practice counting items at home! Here are some important things to remember:
- Set quantities up to 25- no higher!
- Do not correct your child in the middle of their counting and be careful not to point out what they did wrong. If they can discover the mistake themselves, the learning experience will be much more effective! If your child miscounts a group of items, ask him/her to try counting them again. If they come up with a different answer this time, ask them: "Why do you think that is? Why did you get 2 different answers? What can you do when you're counting to make sure you always get the same answer?" It is important for them to NATURALLY DISCOVER their own way of keeping track. Some children will line them up, some will move them away, whatever the case, they need to find a way that works for THEM!
- Ask them to try estimating the number of items beforehand- encourage them that estimating is only a guess and it is not supposed to be the same exact number!
- Once they have counted out the quantity, be sure to ask "So, how many are there?" This establishes the cardinality piece as mentioned above. You can also try adding one more cube/counter/etc. to the pile, and saying, "How many are there now?" **THEY MAY RECOUNT THE WHOLE PILE STARTING FROM 1 AND THAT IS OKAY! It is a developmental milestone they need to work through. Eventually, with a lot of exposure to counting, they will understand the next number word is one more.**
Last, but by no means least- We assess students all year long to be sure they have indeed mastered counting items. Even after seeing mastery, it is still a very important skill to practice and maintain. Successfully completing this task once does not mean that students will be successful every time, which is why we place such an emphasis on this foundational mathematical practice.