15+ Ways to Teach Your Toddler How to Count

Count Steps as you Walk Up The Stairs

    How many times a day do you and your little one walk up and down the stairs? Better yet, how many times does your toddler insist on being carried up the stairs?! A fun way to get your little one interested in walking up the stairs is to count each step as they go. Flights of stairs are anywhere from 3 to 6, to 12, or even 15 steps! My son started counting along with us and eventually learned to keep counting to 15!

Count and Play with Cheerios 

    Cheerios are a staple in any toddler home! Not only are cheerios a great tool for teaching toddlers the ropes for potty training, but they’re also a great tool for teaching counting! Grab a bowl of cheerios and count as you lay them out on the table. Stack them up or line ’em up and count as high as you can. And don’t get upset when your little one shoves a few in their mouth! Remember, repetition is a great way for toddlers to learn. Start over every time they eat some that you’ve already counted. This is a great game to play during snack time. 

Play with Play-Doh
“Play-Doh Numbers, Letters, N’ Fun“

    My son is very into sensory things, (what toddler isn’t?) We just bought this set and my son absolutely adores it! It comes with 35+ letters and numbers that you can use to push into the Play-Doh to make impressions or even cut-outs of each letter and number. We play “hunt and find” games with the stamps, looking for the numbers in order and counting as we cut them out and place them in order. This a great way to help your little one recognize the way numbers look and which order they should go in! My son loves it! 

Count Blocks or Toys as You Clean Up 

    I am a huge advocate and encourage of cleaning up the messes you make. My son? Not so keen on the idea. One of the ways I get him involved and invested in cleaning up is by counting. We will count to 10, 20, sometimes even 30 if there are plenty of toys in a pile. Bring along a box, tote or bucket and count as your chuck the toys into the box. Don’t forget to remind your toddler how many toys are left as you make progress!

Count as You Get Dressed

Related Blog Post: 10 Things to Try Instead of Telling Your Toddler No

    This is huge! My son first started counting and learning how to get dressed because I always counted as we got dressed. “One, two legs, one, two arms, one, two feet…” Eventually, he started counting as he pushed one arm and then the other into his shirts, legs into pants and feet into socks and shoes! It’s amazing to watch and it makes it fun. It also distracts them if they aren’t too keen on getting dressed in the morning like my son. 

Buy a Counting Book 
“Numbers Colors Shapes (First 100)“

    Another great way to help your child understand how each number looks is to have plenty of counting visual aids. My son is a huge lover of books and I couldn’t be more proud! This First 100 Numbers book has been amazing. Not only have we used it as an introductory to numbers, but it will also be great as my little guy advances and learns to count to 100. 

    We also have the “First 100 Numbers, Colors & Shapes” book by Priddy Books! It’s a great combination and covers all the basics for your little one! This series by Priddy Books is really great and we’ve also enjoyed their book First 100 Words Lift-the-Flap: Over 35 Fun Flaps to Lift and Learn, which has been great for teaching first words in a fun, new way! Our toddler loves flip-the-flap kind of books and this one is no exception! It’s not terribly expensive, in the event your little one gets too excited and accidentally rips the flap instead of flipping it, (been there, ripped that.)

Count While Getting Into & Out Of Places…

    My son absolutely loves this! Make it a game. Lift your child halfway into the tub while counting, “1… 2… 3!” And then plop them into the tub. Pretty soon your little one will be counting along with you in anticipation. Do it as you’re getting in and out of bed, the car seat, the grocery cart. Anyway to work numbers into their every day experiences. 

Download a Counting App
Animal Math Preschool Math Games for Toddlers and Early Learners Free Math Games for Kids Pre-K Preschoolers Learning Numbers, Counting, Addition and Subtraction 

There are so many apps out there and there’s a great selection of counting apps. This app is so great because it has everything; letters, numbers, colors, animals! And the best part?! It’s FREE! It’s a little advanced for our little ones but I am a huge fan of introducing age-advanced apps early. You might be surprised how much your little one actually knows. 

Buy Counting Toys
” Fisher-Price My First Thomas & Friends, Count with Me Thomas“

    My son loves Thomas! It was only fitting that a family friend gifted him this cute Count with Me train. It has lovely sensory-engaging coins that you deposit into the train’s top and Thomas counts each coin. You can then open the hatch at the back and grab your coins out! Thomas will say, “Open!” and, “Close!” each time. The hull of the train also doubles as great storage for the coins so that you don’t lose them around the house. He also sings cute little songs and encourages your toddler to keep going! This was an amazing gift and my son loves it. 

When in Doubt, Make Everything a Counting Game 

    Count while you make them wait for their juice, food or cup while you get it for them. Say it’ll take 10 seconds and count to 10. Count while they sit in a time-out. Don’t forget to play cute hide-and-seek games and count aloud for your little one to hear.

Count Fingers and Toes…

    Who doesn’t love little fingers and toes? While you cuddle or change clothes, stop for a minute and count those cute little digits. Your little one will eventually join in and count their own toes, which is just the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen!!! 

Use Counting Flash Cards
“Playskool Flash Cards Value Pack – Alphabet/First Words/Shapes & Colors/Numbers PreK – K“

    The flash cards are amazing! They’re colorful, fun and engaging. They’re also decently cheap so that if your little one gets excited and bends or rips them, it’s no the end of the world! It also helps that I love the Playskool brand. We have the first words, alphabet & numbers flash cards and we LOVE them! The alphabet cards have been amazing for teaching our little guy phonetics and the first words pack has been great for learning the name of so many common objects! I wish we would’ve bought the combo pack so that we could’ve had them all and saved some money! I am currently on the hunt for the Shapes & Colors pack!  

Watch Counting Videos Together

    There are plenty of great counting videos on YouTube. My favorite by far is Super Simple Songs! It’s engaging for my little guy and it’s not super annoying in the background, either. Play video in the background while your little one plays. My son has started to sing along and count, too! 

Count Toys as you Take Them Out

    I can’t tell you how often I have to go into the closet and take out something else my son wants to play with, even though he already has a million and one toys in his room to play with! Don’t be afraid to slow down the process and count as your take out cars, trucks, trains, blocks, dolls; anything, really! 

Buy Refrigerator Number & Letter Magnets
“Magnetic Letters and Numbers for Educating Kids in Fun -Educational Alphabet Refrigerator Magnets -82 Pieces“

    There is nothing in this world that makes me prouder than watching my little guy stand in front of the fridge, playing with magnets, counting and singing the alphabet song while he sits there cross legged. It just makes everything else so worth it! These magnets are too cute; they’re fun to look at and you also get uppercase and lowercase! You also get duplicates of some of the more popular letters, which is great for putting letters together and starting down the path of teaching 3 letter words like cat or dog!

Listen to Counting Songs 

    Music is a great way to encourage learning in your toddler. Playing songs in the background with counting and phonetics is a great way to let your toddler do something, like playing with toys, while also enriching their brains! Plus, it’ll also keep them busier for longer. 

Buy Foam Letter & Numbers Bath Toys
“Munchkin 36 Bath Letters and Numbers, Pastel“

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