Count to twenty

What it looks like when your child can do it

• — Your child counts from one to twenty out loud while you push the swing, with no numbers skipped.
• — Your child says thirteen, fourteen, fifteen and does not jump from twelve to fifteen.
• — When you stop partway and ask what comes next, your child can say it.

How to teach it at the kitchen table

1. 01

   Count out loud every day

   Count while you do things: steps on a walk, pushes on the swing, the time it takes to wash hands. Twenty is a long string of words, and it is learned by saying it often.

2. 02

   Slow down through the teens

   Eleven and twelve have to be memorized, because they do not sound like other numbers. Fourteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen and nineteen say the small number and then teen. Thirteen and fifteen bend it a little: thir for three, fif for five. Say those slowly together.

3. 03

   Take turns

   You say one, your child says two, you say three. Taking turns makes your child hold the place in the count without leaning on your voice.

4. 04

   Stop and ask what comes next

   Count together and stop on a number, like eleven. Ask what comes next. Knowing the next word from the middle is exactly what counting on needs.

5. 05

   Walk a number path to twenty

   Tape paper squares marked 1 to 20 in a line on the floor so they do not slide underfoot. Your child steps on each square and says its number. Feet, eyes and voice all travel the same path.

You will need: Paper squares marked 1 to 20 and some tape, if you like · Swings, steps on a walk or anything else you already count

Try it together

1. Try 1

   Ask your child to count out loud from one as far as they can.

   Listen for  One to twenty in order. Listen closely through the teens. Fourteen, fifteen, sixteen is where words most often go missing.

2. Try 2

   Say, eleven, twelve. Then wait.

   Listen for  Thirteen.

3. Try 3

   Count together to nine and stop. Ask what comes next.

   Listen for  Ten.

4. Try 4

   Ask what comes after nineteen.

   Listen for  Twenty.

5. Try 5

   Take turns counting to twenty, you starting with one.

   Listen for  Your child says two, four, six, eight, ten, twelve, fourteen, sixteen, eighteen, twenty. Watch that your child comes in on time after each of your numbers.

Watch for

• — Skipping a teen, often fifteen, or saying tenteen after nineteen. Both are common and fade with daily counting.

If it is not there yet

• — Back up to counting to ten until it is smooth every time. Then add eleven and twelve, then the rest of the teens a few at a time.
• — Count along with your child instead of asking for a solo count, and let your voice drop out for a word or two at a time.

A few days of this is normal, and it is time well spent. The lesson will still be there, and it will go faster.

Where this skill comes up

• Zig and Zag Count to Twenty · Lesson 23

  Count On From Here

  Needs it because you can only start in the middle of the path if you already know the path to twenty.