How do I make my child understand the concept of numbers?

Question

She does not understand what comes before ,after etc. That makes her anxious and she refuses to think!We end up in crying sessions.
. what do I do?

Answer 1

Shift gears.

Ask her to bring you two books.

Tell her she may have three pieces of candy.

Make it an ongoing exercise in practical application rather than a rote litany or a theoretical concept.

Try to make it fun.

Answer 2

How old is she? Are you using favorite objects, stuff animals blocks? Make it a game not a separate activity. Just work it in to play and relax she will catch on . Make your sessions slow and short. As soon as she feels stressed switch to something else like colors or names of things. You could try a counting video by her favorite charters> Most importantly relax and take it slow>

Answer 3

The preposition words such as "before" and "after" are very abstract for children. It's the same reason why some students get up confused with down...they know they're related, but they don't really seem to MEAN anything.

"Before and after" are terms that are hard for many elementary students to master for the same reasons, so don't worry too much if she isn't getting it as she is not alone!

Sesame Street tries to help with some of these concepts with some of the sketches (Grover singing, "Around, around, around, around...over, and under, and through" as he runs around the doors). Dan Zanes has "Walk Down Emmanuel Road" that played on Sesame Street and is on his new video. It sings about "what comes after one?" while showing the numbers lined up and walking down a street. This is the best way the "masters" at Sesame Workshops have figured out to teach the abstract preposition concepts.

So, your daughter may be more confused by the words, "before" and "after" than the counting, itself. Try taking out the words "before" and "after" when you practice counting (my two-year-old niece knows the alphabet from all the ABC songs on Sesame Street...but if you ask her what comes "after" a given letter, she has no clue yet, and we don't press her on it since it takes a while to get the letter concept alone secure in a pre-schooler's mind).

Separate, apart from counting, practice the words "before" and "after" such as, "AFTER we eat lunch, we'll go to the park. What will we do after lunch?" (Go to the park.) Work on patterns such as lining up two blue beads, one yellow bead, two blue beads, one yellow bead, and talking about what comes AFTER the yellow bead (patterns are also math).

One "before" and "after" seem secure concepts AND counting is something she knows cold, try to put them back together, and see if that helps.

Good luck. You've got a hard concept to work on, but I think if you separate the prepositions from the counting, then put them back together, you'll have a better time.

Answer 4

Use a number chart.Go step by step.Introduce those numbers to her one by one.She will be used to it very soon.Don't forget to use music or rhytham bcoz they help a child to remember better.
And just don't push her to much.Let her catch up herself.Too much pressure can make her to hate maths.

Answer 5

How old is your child? For some children, numbers make sense at an early age, and for others, it is around age 6 or even 7 that they finally figure it out.

Do you let your child watch tv and especially kids shows on PBS? Those type shows are wonderful at both entertaining and teaching a young child, in a fun and non-stressful manner.

Make counting part of every day life. Count things all around the house. From one to ten to start, then slowly work up to 20, then 30. Not using written numbers, just using things. Your child needs to hear the words, to start. Then use fingers. Count fingers, up to 10. Get it so your child can show you 5 fingers, 10 fingers, and all the numbers in between 1- 10.

Once your child understands using fingers, you can count up then down, adding and taking away fingers. Or items sitting on a table. Use words like "take one away" and "add one more".

Does your child recognize written numbers yet? A few of them? Written numbers have to be learned from 1-9 first. She needs to know those by site before you add two digit numbers.

Counting books are wonderful. Get a few from the library. The pictures in them help the child and stimulate the brain.

Do not rush numbers, just work with numbers, every day. Make numbers fun.

Practice counting by 10's, up to 100. Spend a week doing this, and write down the numbers. Point to the written number and chant-count, out loud. "ten, twenty, thirty...." SLOWLY. Only go up to start. After a week, try going down. "one hundred, ninety, eighty..." pointing to the numbers as you go along.

To help your child understand just what it means to count by tens, make little piles of ten items, like 10 beans. Make 4 little piles of beans, 10 per pile, and count by 10's. Also count by ones.

Practice doing this over and over, just 10 minutes per day, at the most.

If your child knows her 10's, try counting by 5's. And 2's.

Have her write down numbers, in order, on a grid, between 1-100. Daily. But, make certain she can glance at an already filled out chart, for reference! maybe stick one on the wall. you can use a wall chart for daily counting and reference. Make sure it's big enough for her to easily see. All of those numbers will get confusing, make it a large chart.

I've worked with assorted kids who are learning to count, and write their numbers, and many first graders still struggle with charts that go to one hundred. It takes daily practice.

When my own kids were learning to count, we counted by 2's, 5's and 10's, a lot. I even bought cassette tapes with kids songs, and a few counting songs were on those tapes.

Singing playful songs and using little hand puppets can be fun for kids too.

You can get your child to help you around the house, and as you fold laundry, she can count all the sox. Or all the underwear. Make counting humorous. "let's count all the holes in the underwear." When you serve food, you can serve by counting. "How many peas do you want?" Then count them out.

Answer 6

dont PuSh it , she will understand it when she is ready, dont make such a big deal out of it