Buy flash cards at the store or make your own. Using flash cards is a repetitive exercise that can enhance practically every area of early childhood education, including letter recognition and counting. Flash cards for counting feature a printed number and pictures of objects that correspond with the number. For example, a No. 10 card might have a picture of 10 cats on it. Hold each card up and ask your child to count the objects on it. Help your child until she is able to count on her own.
Get your child excited about counting by turning everyday interactions into a learning session. Play a counting game with your toddler by referring to items in your house. For example, ask your toddler to count the number of legs on a chair. Or ask him to count the number of books on the coffee table. When you are outdoors, ask your child to count the birds, ducks or trees he sees.
Kids love treats. Try incorporating counting into snack time. Place a different number of snacks on each of three plates. For example, put five crackers on one plate, three cookies on another plate and four chips on a third plate. Ask your child to grab the plate with three cookies or four chips. This forces her to count the number of snacks on all three plates.
If your child enjoys clapping his hands or stomping his feet, use this energy to teach counting. Clap your hand a specific number of times and ask your toddler to count the claps. Or ask your toddler to clap his hands or stomp his feet a certain number of times. Count along with your toddler until he grasps the concept. Then allow him to count on his own. This counting game can also be played with a drum or noisy toys.