Most children have a favorite kind of toy that turns into a collection. Whether that is cars, trains, Barbie dolls, books or stuffed animals, a child's collection of toys can be turned into counting games and lessons. Help your child gather his entire collection of these toys in a big pile. First, have your child count how many total toys there are. Then choose different categories for your child to find and count. For example, ask him how many red cars he has or how many of his stuffed animals are cats. This will help him build his counting skills while also working on colors, shapes and other knowledge.
Purchase colored masking tape. You can find it at craft stores as well as in the paint section of hardware and home-improvement stores. Test the tape on a small area of your carpet or hard floor to make sure it does not cause any damage. Once you are sure it will be safe, use the tape to write out numbers on the floor. You can make the numbers big or small and you can line them up or scatter them all over the room.
Young children can push small toy cars over the numbers while saying the number. Older children can try to jump from one number to the next while counting. Once the kids have the counting down, you can use the same set up for adding and subtracting. Ask the child "what is two plus three?" and they must run to stand on the correct number on the carpet.
Guessing games do more than just entertain children. Guessing teaches children important skills that will develop into an ability to make good estimations in the future. You can make a guessing game that involves counting just about anything. When baking cookies, ask the child to guess how many cookies she thinks the batter will make. When the cookies are done, allow her to count the cookies to see if she was right. When cleaning up toys, ask her to guess how many teddy bears she left on the floor. As she picks them up, she can count and see if she was right. When playing catch, guess how many times you can throw the ball back and forth without dropping it. Count each catch and see if you can make it to your goal. You can even stand in one spot in the house and guess how many steps it will take to get somewhere else. For example, guess how many steps it will take to get from the front door to the kitchen. Your child can then walk from point A to point B and count her steps as she goes.