Teaching preschoolers to count begins by providing them with activities related to rote counting, which means saying the name of the numbers but not knowing anything about what they mean. Many songs and finger games emphasize numbers, and a preschool teacher can take any tune the children know and make it into a rote counting song. For example, a counting song to the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" is "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, little lambs, 5 little lambs, 5 little lambs, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, little lambs all in a row."
Recognizing numbers is a higher-level skill than rote number counting and refers to the ability to visually recognize and name numbers. Teaching children to recognize numbers in a functional way might be to set up a game called "Searching for Numbers." This game can be played in and out of the classroom. It consists of asking the children to look around and find numbers. The teacher keeps track of how many numbers the class finds while playing the game in different environments. This information is put into a chart for the children to look at and make comparisons of more, less, few, many, etc.
Understanding one-to-one correspondence is the ability to match a verbal or written number with an item. Mastering one-to-one correspondence allows a child to count while touching the objects being counted. Developing this skill requires meaningful practice such as counting the number of plates, glasses and napkins as he puts them on the table for snack or lunch, counting how many stairs he walks up and down, how many steps it takes to walk from one room to another or how many crayons are in the box. Children can count just about anything they do during the day.