Have your kindergartners sit in a circle and count. The children will go around the circle counting as high as they can. If a child is stuck, you or another child in the circle can help her with the next number. You can also have the children stand up and give one child a soft foam ball. Have the children toss the ball around the circle to one another. Each time a child catches a ball she must count to the next number. Encourage the children to try to count to a higher number each time they play.
Before snack time, allow the children to count their snacks. Give the children snacks, such as pretzels, small candies or cereal, which make it easy for counting. Have the children count their total number of snacks. If they guess correctly, give them a few more snacks for positive reinforcement. Another activity with snacks is to have the children group the snacks in groups of two, three or four. This helps the children learn how to count in multiples. If you do not want to use food, you can do this activity with small blocks.
Help children learn how to count using money. Give the children a small bag of change. Place several items, such as an orange, a toy, a set of blocks and a ball, on a table. Label each toy with a price. Start easy with price tags reading “five cents” or “fifty cents.” The children must count out the correct change for each item. After they learn bigger denominations, raise the prices to make it more of a challenge. You can award small prizes like stickers for correct answers to encourage the children to try their best.
PBSKids.org offers a variety of counting games for kindergartners. “Count your chickens” is a game on the website that allows children to count chickens. In “Tracy’s Matching Game,” children must pick the number that matches the amount of items shown in a picture. IXL.com offers several games that allow children to count money and items. One game displays a picture of coins and the children must guess the correct amount.