A fun way to teach kids to count is to use objects they can pick up and handle. Inexpensive muffin tin cups are an inexpensive tool for sorting and counting games. To use muffin cups to teach counting, write one number in each muffin cup, and lay them out on the table. Next, collect large buttons, poker chips, or even crackers, and lay them on the table as well. Have children place the number of objects in each cup according to the number inside of it. An even more rudimentary version of this game can be done by writing not only the numeral in the muffin cup, but drawing that number of dots as well so that children can learn to recognize the numeral and associate it with that number of things visually.
For a small group of children in a room or small outdoor space, numerical hide and seek is a fun way to get out some energy and become familiar with numbers. Write numbers on index cards and show the cards to the kids. Have everyone cover their eyes, and hide the number cards all around the room or space. The children must find the cards, then return to base and organize the numbers in order. When all the cards are found and in proper order, they've won! This counting game teaches children to recognize numbers and to count using numerals, while also promoting the benefits of teamwork.
A perfect game for kids at home or on a cement playground at school, classic hopscotch can be expanded to teach more advanced children higher numbers. Draw a hopscotch board with brightly colored chalk. A hopscotch board should be a long line of boxes, sometimes two boxes next to each other, ending at a star or large circle. Write a number in each box, challenging the kids to count higher than they have before, using numerals they're familiar with and those they are just being introduced to. To play, each child tosses a small rock onto the board, and hops to the square it lands in, shouting each number they jump on. This fun way to learn counting promotes physical activity and literally "thinking on your feet."
A variation on the traditional road trip game, I Spy can be played using counting as well. To play I Spy, the leader says that they see something, and describes or names it. It is the job of the players to look around and find what the leader described. Instead of saying "I spy something..." and naming a color, name instead an amount of something. For example, "I spy five chairs," then have children locate all five. Challenge children to lead the game, giving you a numerical "I spy" to locate. Numerical I Spy is an ideal game for waiting rooms, cars, and instances where children have to stay still and look all around them.