Montessori Activity: Counting and Numeral Recognition with Stickers

Age: From 3.5 years old

Objectives:
1. To teach counting and numeral recognition in a fun way.
2. To teach the concept of zero in a concrete way.
3. To train fine motor skills.

Materials:
1. 1 counting worksheet (Confessions of a Homeschooler has a fantastic one you can download here)
2. Small stickers
3. 1 tray

Directions:
1. Demonstrate by pasting one sticker on the card called "One" and two stickers on the card called "Two", saying: "Joshua, this is one, it gets one sticker... this is two, it gets two stickers. This is three, how many stickers should it gets?"

2. Next go to the Zero card and ask: "This is zero, how many stickers should it get?" Your child should say none. If he does not say none, you can tell him that it is zero, zero means empty. Thus, it does not get any stickers.

3. Encourage your child to try to do the same for the remaining labels "Three" to "Five".

4. Next lay out the cards from 6 - 10 and count them with your child.

5. Then isolate Card 6 and ask your child to paste them with stickers. Review the answer with him and have him repeat after you saying, "Six".

6. Encourage your child to trace the numeral 6 with pasting stickers as part of hand-writing preparation activity.

7. Depending on your child, continue with Card 7 to Card 10 the following day, isolating Card 7.... then Card 8... so as not to overwhelm the child.

Additional Information:
This is a modern variation of the Montessori Maths activity - The Spindle Box. Kids just love stickers. Thus, any activities with stickers would be a great hit. If you have a boy, you can give him stickers with cars, transportation, dinosaurs, etc. During School Time this evening, Joshua (3Y6M12D) tried this activity and it has engaged his interest. It will create good feelings for School Time for the child. He completed until Card 6.

At this age, you could give your child smaller stickers, which are more challenging to peel and stick, and thus work further on his fine motor skills. I bought my stickers from Tiger or Søstrene Grene from Copenhagen.

We also reviewed the names of the objects on the stickers, and he learned a new word in English and Mandarin today - Submarine.

Apart from this, we also did some homework. Joshua requested an activity that he could use his pencil to draw. Thus, for us montessori manipulative-based activities and Desk Time truly complement each other. For more information about our concept of School Time, read here.

Practising counting by pasting stickers - also trains precision skills and fine motor skills at the same, killing a few "birds" with one stone

The joy of completing a task - a joy to the child.. and mom alike :-)

Tracing Numeral 6 with pasting stickers as part of hand-writing preparation activity