Summer Fun with Numbers

Make counting fun. We went tractor "hunting," counted the tractors and pretended to drive them. 

Summer is the perfect time to notice numbers.  Whether you are on a road trip, at the pool or just shopping at the grocery store, point out numbers to your child.  We just went on a road trip and I couldn't believe how many numbers my son found or the things we counted. Even if they can't read the number, just pointing out the number encourages young children to begin identifying numerals.  

Vacation Counting:

1.  Numbers at the pool:  My four-year-old loves to jump off the edge of the pool, so I asked him to jump from the number 3 (marked for 3 feet deep).  Once he found the 3, he wanted to jump from the 5. 

2.  Numbers at a hotel:  When taking the elevator I asked him to push the number 1 or any floor that we needed.  He noticed there was a number outside our room and matched it with the room key. 

3.  Numbers on the road:  We looked for speed limit signs.  Even though some of the two-digit numbers were hard for him to say, he could find one number he knew.  

4.  Things to count:  We counted trains and trucks at a construction site.   Anything that had multiples, we tried to count. 

5.  Numbers at the store:  We went to buy souvenirs and I asked my son to find the price tag on the train he wanted. He asked, "What does it look like?"  I said, "Little numbers on a sticker.  Can you find it?" He surprised me when he read, "It says 12, mom."