Activity 1. Counting forward and backwards
Start at 1 and go as far as you can up to 20.
Ask your child to start at different numbers e.g. 5, 11, 8 etc.
Find your number cards, and set them out in the right order , as far as you can go.
Starting with the highest number your child counted to, can you count backwards to 1? Can you count backwards to zero?
Look at page 24 in your Numbers to 10 workbook. Set out your number cards to match the number sequences – can you work out which number is missing? Look carefully at your number card, and copy the shape of the number carefully into the gap.
Activity 2. Making a set.
Sing some counting songs together e.g. 1,2,3,4,5 once I caught a fish alive, 10 in a bed, 5 little speckled frogs. A quick search of “counting songs” on youtube will bring up lots more – even some retro ones from Sesame Street back in the day! (Ladybugs picnic is a particular favourite!)
Grab some toys/ unmatched (clean!) socks/ pasta/ cotton reels/ pebbles /shells – anything that you have plenty of!
Take a handful – this is your set. Carefully count how many are in your set. Encourage your child to touch each item as they count to promote accuracy. However, if they have mastered this skill of one to one touch counting, you can extend the activity by asking them to guess how many there are in the set before counting, and also counting without touching the items.
Extend this activity by adding 1 more, and recounting the set – how many do you have now? Can you add 2 more and recount? Can you find the number card that will match your set? Or if you have a pen and paper handy, ask your child to write the number down.
Activity 3. Counting within 10.
To warm up the little numeracy neurons in your child’s brain, do some more counting forward and backward, starting within 5, extending to 10, 15 and finally 20. This could be counting how many cheerios are in their bowl, how many Lego bricks are in their tower, how many socks in the laundry basket have inexplicably lost their partner?! You can be creative with your counting!
Then turn to page number 25 in the Numbers to 10 workbook. This is a fun little dot-to-dot activity, but it is designed to challenge your child’s understanding of numerical order. Find your number cards. Ask your child to put them in the right order. Then look to your dot-to-dot pictures. Help your child count to ten, finding the correct number in the dot-to-dot as you do so. Keep the number cards in order as your child completes the activity, and they can refer back to them as they work.
Activity 4. Number formation
Complete the first page of your numeracy revision book, number formation 1.
Activity 5. Number recognition and touch counting.
Find a board game that has a dice e.g. Snakes and Ladders, Frustration. Play the game. Ask your child to tell you the number on the dice, and then to accurately move their game piece on the board.