About this game

Say the counting sequence

Say the counting sequence: a free Pre-K math game for ages 4-5. Each round draws 5 questions; instructions are read aloud and every answer is checked and explained.

How it plays and why it helps

Reciting the numbers is a song; filling a gap in them shows whether the song is really known. Say the counting sequence gives a Pre-K child a row of numbers starting at 1 with one empty box. At first the box sits at the end, as in 1, 2, 3, gap. Later it moves inside, as in 1, gap, 3, 4. Your child taps the missing number from four choices. A round has five rows, and every answer is checked.

Counting rests on the stable order principle: the number words always come in the same sequence. Gaps in the middle are harder. A gap in the middle tests that order better than a gap at the end, because the child cannot just keep going. The hint is the classic move: count from 1, following the numbers, and say what goes where the box is empty.

When the gap moves inside, some children read to the end of the row and tap its last number, 4 for 1, gap, 3, 4. Point to the box and ask, "What do we say right here?" Then praise the stop: "You stopped at the box."

Aligned with

  • P-MATH 1 Child knows number names and the count sequence.
  • P-MATH 5 Child associates a quantity with written numerals up to 5 and begins to write numbers.
  • P-MATH 2 Child recognizes the number of objects in a small set.

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