So we've already talked about recognizing numbers up to 30. Now it's time to talk about number sense. According to Wikipedia, number sense is "an intuitive understanding of numbers, their magnitude, relationships, and how they are affected by operations." Kindergarteners need to understand the value of each number and it's relationship to other numbers. For example, they should know that the symbol 5 stands for exactly 5 items and that 5 is more than 4 but less than 6. The best way to develop good number sense is to play with numbers! Here are some ideas:
1. Play board games that use dice.
2. Play dominoes.
3. Practice counting real objects. Use pennies, buttons, paper clips, whatever you have around the house. Ask your child to count out different sets and then compare the sets. Which has more than this set? Which has less than this set? Which has the most? The least?
4. Make number art. Ask your child to write a number from 1 to 30 and then draw simple pictures to represent their number. For example, write a 5 and then draw 5 stars. You can also do this activity with stamps or stickers.
