How old are you?

FAWFP: Fun with birthdays

My nearly-two-year old has an advantage over his big brother. He has been watching him count, do finger patterns and talk about math since he was a newborn. He is very busy, as most are at this age. He loves to count along with his brother and play the tickle game (see previous entry) as much as picking up his favorite book. Just a few weeks ago I started telling him he had a birthday coming up and showing him on his fingers how old he was going to be. Not long after that he started making two and showing me two when I asked him "How old are you?" 

Please watch the clip below to see him hold down all his other fingers to show me two. Now that he has it down he loves flashing his two!

5 Reasons to Try Doubles

                                                                Double the Trouble

Finger Patterns/Doubles Review

A number of readers asked me to explain why doubles and finger patterns are important. Exposing your child to finger patterns and early counting is a crucial developmental step. Current research and theory suggests that "Children's number competence is supported by their daily experiences in the world." (Saxe, et all., 1997)  Doing these simple and fun activities with your child will encourage an early awareness to math that includes counting, finger patterns and a new vocabulary.

Doubles are a huge concept.  I don't expect my four year old to fully understand it but I am giving him the chance to practice, understand and have fun with doubles before he enters school.  Asking a child to fire away a double four can be confusing.  The correct response is to fire away a two and a two on each hand.  Remember the number you ask them to fire away is the TOTAL, not what they show on each hand.

Five Reasons to Try Doubles

1.  Doubles are everywhere.  We have doubles built into our bodies.  Why not show your child what a double looks like?  I have two feet, two sets of five fingers and two sets of five toes.

2.  Doubles open the door for more advanced strategies.  Doubles are the same as counting by twos. Counting by twos is groundwork for multiplying by two.

3.  Children of all ages can talk about doubles.  Young children can fire away a double from two to ten while older children can go past ten and do higher doubles mentally or on paper (6+6, 7+7, etc.)

4.  Kids love using the word double.  My son loves to say it when requesting his favorite food or treat!  

5.  Doubles encourage children to see numbers as a set or a group and move away from seeing numbers as going one by one.

2 Beds and 4 People

Seeing Double: Double Finger Patterns

This winter we went to Taos Ski Valley for a family snowboarding trip. When we walked into our hotel room, our 4-year old said, "Look there are two beds and four people so that means that two people will sleep in each bed." I was a little surprised, but excited to see how math had become part of his everyday. This was the perfect opportunity to talk to him about doubles. I showed him the doubles for two, one finger on my right hand and one finger on my left hand.

Finding Doubles

Point out a double to your child (two feet, two hands, two eyes) and challenge them to begin finding doubles. Once they understand the concept of doubles, you can show them the double patterns on their fingers. While getting into the car my son said. "Look there are two tires in the front and two tires in the back." I showed him how to make a double four on his fingers. It is important to use the word, "double" when you are making a double so your child knows to make the same number on both hands.

Below are pictures of the double finger patterns for two, four, six, and 10. Remember to tie real life surroundings in order for the "double" to make sense.

Double 2

Double 4                                  

Double 6

Double 8

Double 10

Ready, Set, Count!

Counting Past 10:
When I first started this blog, I wanted to focus on finger patterns. Most of the feedback I hear from people is that their child is now solid with their numbers from 1 to 10 and they want to know the next step.

Finger patterns are a tool that children use from a very young age through elementary school to help them make a number for quantity, keep track of counts for addition and subtraction and begin using finger patterns for even more advanced strategies such as early multiplicative strategies.

Finger patterns are not meant for your child to hold on to, but to help them see a pattern that runs through the number system. Now that your child is fluent with counting, showing without having to count, making and linking numbers 1 to 10, they are ready to count numbers past 10. Please be aware that the teens are tricky and require more practice than any other family. My previous blogs with games apply and here are few suggestions to have fun while counting past 10.

1. Count things. My son loves a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows. We have a counting deal. He counts all the marshmallows before putting them in the cup. I start with a number in the range of 1 to 10 so he can practice pulling the marshmallows away from the other group and linking it to a number. The key skill here is to remove each marshmallow from the pile as it is counted. This “assigns” a number to it. Please see the example video clip.
2. Make mistakes. Numbers in the teens sound very different and do not have the same rules as the other families. 21 is “twenty” and “one,” but there aren’t hints for 11 and 13. When your child makes a mistake, start from the last number they said correctly and continue counting.

Numbers are Everywhere

Early Counting and Early Reading are Equal!

While driving with my four-year-old, he started to sing the alphabet. He could say every letter and sang it in a perfect sing-song way. He loves to find letters on signs, buildings and license plates. What about numbers and counting? Why are numbers and counting not taught like the alphabet or stressed with the importance that early reading is? Counting is complex and as a parent you might not know where to start. Besides working with your child on finger patterns and getting them fluent with "firing away" their numbers 1 to 10, what else can we be doing to prepare our children much like we do with reading?

FAWFP Next Steps: Games

Board Games:
Now that your child can "fire away" finger patterns from 1 to 10 and automatically identify the numbers 1 to 10 when flashed, your child is ready to explore board games. I have made a list of board games that I use with my Math Recovery students and my own son. Things to consider when looking at board games:
1. What kind of dice does the game include? Do they have dots that my child can easily count and eventually automatically recognize?
2. Are cards included that have numbers on them to practice matching the symbol of the number and not just the quantity?
3. What does the board game look like? Are there numbers on the board, how high do the numbers go?
4. Is the board game fun and easy to play?
5. Will my child become frustrated because the level is too high or will the board game "grow" with my child?

More Game Ideas:

If you do not want to get out a board game, a deck of cards or dice will do. Kids love cards. They love holding them, dealing them out or just playing with them. Just like when your child started to hold, chew on, throw and even tear up books, let your child explore the materials that you provide for them. At first they may want to play with the cards and not name the numbers or count the dots on them. After they have had time to check out their game, sit down with them and have fun. 

Dominos: They can count the dots, make a row of dominos in order, and even play the actual game. They will love building with them. Build a domino city asking questions like, "I need a domino with 4 dots on it."

Cards:  If you decide to play go fish, take out the face cards and focus on 1 to 10. Make connections for them like, "What number did you just draw or can you count the dots on the card to find the name of the number?"

Dollar Store Junk: I know it sounds funny but the Dollar Store has great materials to practice counting. I just found an assortment of plastic dinosaurs that my son loved lining them all up, counting them and sequencing them in every other color. They have great marbles, popsicle sticks…you name it. Just keep in mind that you are looking for things to make that link with counting just like you do when looking for a good book for your child.

Barrel of Monkeys: I still remember linking the monkey’s arms together when I was little. This is a great game to take in the car. Don't forget to ask them, "How many monkeys did you link together? Can you link 5 monkeys? What happens if 1 monkey falls off?"

Snap Cubes: Snap cubes can be found at a teaching resource store. They come in an array of colors. Snap cubes are great for building, and making "number trains.” Ask your child to see how big of a train they can make with the cubes and count the cubes in the train.

Find Numbers Everywhere!

When I brought my first son home from the hospital, I remember all the cute board books I had lined up and the routine my husband and I had of reading books every night before bed. Now when we read books at night we also count anything we can in the books to making a link to numbers and reading. When we are in the car, we not only sing the alphabet, but practice counting forwards and backwards. We loves to count back from 10 to 0 and say, “Blast off.” We look for numbers on signs, buildings and license plates too. Including numbers and counting in every part of your child's life will develop their life-long learner skills and give them confidence in the classroom. It allows them to see the importance of counting and reading at a young age.

Fire Away With Bunny Ears

Bunny Ears At The Park

What Are Bunny Ears™?
Bunny Ears is a Math Recovery® game to encourage fluency with finger patterns. Once a child can make their finger patterns from 1 to 10 in sight, they are ready to move their fingers out of sight or in this case, on top of their head. Kids love this game because it is silly and parents have a great time watching their child problem solve. It is a lot of fun.

How to Make Bunny Ears
1. Ask your child to put their hands in the fire away position on top of their head like a bunny.
2. Ask your child to fire away a number from 1 to 10 while keeping their fingers on top of their head.
3. Notice how your child makes their finger patterns when they are out of sight. Do they count from 1 to find the number? Do they automatically know the number? Do they pull their hands down to make the number?

How Many Ears Did You See? (Modeling bunny ears for your child)
1. Put your hands in the fire away position on top of your head like a bunny.
2. Make a number 1 to 10, keeping your fingers on top of your head.
3. Ask your child, "How many ears do you see on top of my head?"
4. Continue making different patterns on top of your head for your child. Gradually decrease the amount of time you show your bunny ears. Eventually, you should be able to just quickly flash your bunny ears and have your child identify the number.

Video of Bunny Ears

Do Babies Count?

I was talking with a group of friends that are all using the Fire Away With Finger Patterns method with their young children. One friend told me she uses it with her one-year-old son. She said that he loved it when she said, "Fire away!" We all play games with our babies, tickling their toes, kissing them, reading books and singing songs. What about counting? How can we include them in counting? Please watch the attached video to see that babies count too!

Babies Count Too Tickle Game

I started playing this game with my 15-month-old son last week. I say and fire away finger patterns from one to five and of course follow it with lots tickling. His giggling increases with each number as he anticipates the tickle. Sometimes he tries to count along with his fingers even though he cannot talk yet! It is amazing to see them start to understand counting and quantity.

1. Fire away your finger patterns starting at one building to five.
2. Say each number as you fire away.
3. After five, tickle them all over.
4. Once they understand the game, try it without words and just use finger patterns followed by tickling.