Counting

Counting in preschool is interesting because it is actually more than just one skill.  
Rote counting: This is just counting (memorization), not necessarily counting objects.
One-to-one correspondence: This is the ability to pair one object with each number when counting. A child may have one-to-one-correspondence to seven, but not ten.
Numeral recognition: This is a visual skill.

When we teach new skills in preschool, we make a conscious effort to include methods that will benefit all our auditory, visual AND kinesthetic learners. 

For this activity, I took my group to the block area and showed them pictures of some very different types of structures (Big Ben, The Eiffel Tower, The Golden Gate Bridge, and The Pyramids of Giza). We discussed some of the differences, and then we talked about what architects do. 
"Architects get to design their own type of building. They plan and oversee the construction of their building. Today YOU get to be an architect and design any type of structure you want!"

The children were able to choose how many of each size block they wanted to use. When they were done building their structure, they graphed how many of each block they used. 

Now you can use it in your class, too! (It's available for FREE in our teacherspayteachers store - just click on the button below and you will be re-directed to our store.)

Teacherspayteachers

We also practiced counting in the block area by building a city skyline.

If we don't find many DIFFERENT ways to practice counting, it gets really boring. Here the children are rolling a die and counting out fruit loops. Fun snacks make anything more exciting!

This is a Minute-to-Win-it Fruit Loop Race. The children were given one minute to stack as many Fruit Loops as they could on the kebab stick. 

This was a GREAT way to practice counting (and fine motor!) because they wanted to do it again and again.

When the minute was up, we counted and compared how many Fruit Loops we were able to stack. 

We have this fancy foam pad to hammer these plastic nails into, but Styrofoam and golf tees work just as well. 

In the game "Get to Zero", everyone begins with the same number of gems. The players take turns rolling a die and then put that many gems into the container. With older children, on their last turn, they must roll the EXACT number to "Get to Zero" and win. I use a die with numerals on it so they can practice numeral recognition as well as counting. 

You'd think these children would be sick of numbers and counting by now - that's why we try to make it different every day!