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Kindergarten Counts

How number savvy are children at the start of school? It varies. According to the National Center for Education Statistics most first-time kindergartners can count to ten. Many can identify some single-digit numerals. A few can add and subtract. Much of what children know on that first day of school they know from home.

Sooo... make your little one's day count. COUNT OUT LOUD. Kiss 10 tiny toes. One, two socks fit 1, 2 feet. One, two feet fill 1, 2 shoes. A shirt has how many buttons? At snack time, cookies disappear. Palms up. All gone! That's a number! Count wheels on a tricycle, peas in a garden pod, clouds in the sky.

Twelve eggs fill a carton. Take away one for pancakes. How many does that leave? Serve up a hot stack. Hey, Mom! Tom got more pancakes than me! 'More' is an amount. Sibling rivalry or simple math? Numbers and counts are everywhere.

1, 2, 3 books teach number concepts. They come in a variety of formats for a variety of ages- board books, pop-ups, wordless picture books and more. Here's a handful: 1 2 3, a mini board book for babies by Simms Taback; Counting Peas, a board book for toddlers by Rosemary Wells; Five Little Monkeys jumping on the bed by Eileen Christelow; Mouse Count by Ellen Stohl Walsh and Zero Is the Leaves on the Tree, a hardcover by Betsy Franco.
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