It seems to adults that it is so easy to count from one to ten, but for a kid it is a whole science. But scientists have long proven that the development of mathematical abilities is important for the full formation of brain functions.
The child learns to count, and along with this, he develops memory, attention, logic. At what age can you start learning to count? The most optimal age is 2 years. But some foreign methods suggest starting training as early as 6 months, but it is unlikely that it will be possible to achieve visible results at such an early age, so we will turn to more traditional methods.
Teaching a child to count takes a lot of time and patience. One can begin acquaintance with the first mathematical concepts from one year to the next. You can familiarize yourself with the words “one” - “many” with the help of toys or illustrations in your favorite books. For example, one kitten - many kittens, one cube - many cubes. You can add gestures as an additional memorable element. One is to show one finger, and many are to spread their arms wide. It is very important for a child that, when assimilating new things, as many receptors as possible are involved.
At the next stage, there will be teaching to count up to 3. You should not rush here, since it is important not to mechanically memorize the order when counting, but to understand the number of objects in accordance with the number. You can count everything that the child sees: these are steps, toys, and heroes of your favorite fairy tale. And, of course, learning to count on the fingers of a child will also be very effective. There are more numbers of finger games where numbers are mentioned. Such as, “One, two, three, four, five, a bunny came out for a walk …” or “a thief magpie,” which help your child remember the count.
At the age of 3 years, you can teach counting up to 5 and beyond, depending on the individual abilities of the baby. The child's memory is so arranged that he remembers only what he is interested in or what surprised him. Try to captivate your child with mathematics, using game techniques. At this age, role-playing games are the leading activity. Use this passion for your child's development. For example, you can play a "store" where your son or daughter will be the seller and you will be the buyer. Ask for two apples, three candies. Improving the game, you can add monetary units: buttons, candy wrappers. In addition, there is a need to solve elementary mathematical problems for addition and subtraction. Don't forget about counting in your child's daily life. Walking through the park, you can count birds and trees, leaves and pebbles. If you conduct your classes in a systematic and varied manner, then teaching your child to count is not a big deal.
