Numbers and Counting! Where to Start?

Many toddlers can proudly count to ten, fifteen, twenty, or more. Adults are often so excited and proud of their little ones counting higher and higher. The excitement is often shared by the youngster, happily rattling off numbers whenever someone requests it.

Don’t get me wrong, rote counting is an important skill. It is a necessary step in learning more advanced math concepts. Counting to a high number may sound impressive coming from a young child’s mouth. However, rote counting does not teach children what numbers mean.

Beginning Steps

Exposure to number and counting is still the first step. In Montessori environments, adults do not explicitly teach this, however. It is worked into everyday activities. Perhaps your toddler is stacking some blocks and excitedly shows you. A great response might be, “Wow! 1, 2, 3, 4… You stacked four blocks!” Or perhaps you and your toddler decide to start hopping outside. Count the hops! Or maybe count the cups of flour she’s pouring into the bowl. There are countless (pun, sorry!) opportunities to introduce counting to toddlers.

The first milestone I look for is the child counting from one to five. I will still count higher than this, usually up to ten at this point. Once a child has started counting to five, I begin to be more intentional with math.

One to One Correspondence

After a child is confidently counting to five or higher, I start inviting her to count objects with me. To start, I keep the number to five or less. The goal is to develop one to one correspondence; that is, understanding that each object in the group is counted one time and corresponds to the number. I try to keep these activities organic for toddlers, just as when I am first introducing rote counting. Often, toddlers are excited to count along with others.

When first beginning, I expect children to count objects twice, miss objects, or say the wrong number sometimes. That’s ok! They are still learning. Generally, in Montessori, we avoid pointing out to the child the is wrong. It can be demoralizing to a child, especially if he has been working hard to do something and the adult’s response is about how he did it wrong. Instead, I observe and make note of the errors. Do we need to practice more rote counting? Or do the objects need to be better lined up to see each one in order? The error is a clue to me how to help the child as we move forward.

All By Myself!

Anyone with experience with toddlers has likely experienced a toddler announcing they want to do something, “All by myself!” Counting independently is no different. Eventually children start noticing number themselves and will happily count objects. One of the first things my younger daughter started counting independently was the dots on her step stool. It was a great thing to do while potty training. Sometimes it feels less enjoyable, like the time we had to count every single bush on the way into the doctor’s office.

At this point, she can confidently count 5 objects and she is working on counting up to ten objects. That is as high as her rote counting goes. I will count to higher numbers with her, but when she counts independently past 11, numbers start getting silly. And that’s ok!

Primary Goal

The primary goal of early math experiences in a Montessori environment is to give children a concrete understanding of number. I want to know that young children I am working with understand what they are doing. When we talk about the number five, I want them to know there are five objects.

Like the other areas of the Montessori classroom, the materials and activities focus on helping children develop understanding of what they are working with before moving onto more complicated topics.

Written Numbers

Written number recognition will come later. Some parents like to teach children this early. There is nothing wrong with this. A toddler who has learned what each numeral is will certainly enjoy finding them in the world, such as noticing the house has a number “8” on it. The problem Montessorians find is that there is no understanding tied to the number recognition; the child often has memorized what each number looks like and can recite it back.

Montessori guides typically introduce numerals later. Once a child is confidently rote counting, we look to see that she has also mastered one to one correspondence. At this point, when we introduce the numerals, there will be understanding tied to the number.

When did your child begin counting? I’d love to hear how your family chose to incorporate counting and number understanding with your children!