Teaching to count in the minority language – Tip n°2

Numbers follow a logical order, but when kids learn to count beyond 10, they might feel a bit lost.  That was the case with my eldest daughter.  So I came up with an idea to help her visualise the stringing of the numbers: I handcrafted a little board with numbers that could be flipped as she counted, starting from number 10 (as she was already comfortable counting up to there).

Here is a picture of mine. I actually made it with very cheap materials I had at hand. However, if you can, do use fancier and more colourful materials than mine! And you can make it start from 1 or any other number you want, and up to any number of your choice! The sky is your limit. 🙂

What you need :

• a rectangular piece of cardboard
• a whole puncher
• several sheets of white paper
• 2 felt-tips of different colours
• 2 white labels
• 4 straps (mine were from those that come with freezer bags!)

How to do it:

1. The frame: With the whole puncher, punch 2 sets of wholes on one of the long sides of the cardboard. Leave enough space between the 2 sets so you have enough room for the 2 series of numbers.
2. The flipping numbers:Cut several sheets of paper in 4. Pile them up.
3. 1. Take 10 pieces of paper from the pile. With 1 of the coloured felt-tips, number each piece with a number, starting with 1 and finishing with 10.
   2. Take another 10 pieces of paper from the pile. With the other coloured felt-tips, number each piece with a number, starting from 0 to 9.
   3. With the whole puncher, punch a set of wholes at the top of each numbered piece of paper.
4. Joining the lot together:For the set of numbers to the left side of the board: order the numbers from 1 to 10, attach them to the board using the straps.
5. 1. For the set of numbers to the left of the board: order the numbers from 0 to 9, attach them to the board using the straps.
6. Labelling:Directly on the board, stick a white label under each set of numbers.
7. 1. With the same coloured felt-tip used to write the set of numbers to the left of the board, write the word “Tens”
   2. With the same coloured felt-tip used to write the set of numbers to the left of the board, write the word “Units”

Hey presto! 🙂

My daughter loved it the minute I gave it to her and enjoyed counting on her own as she flipped the numbers. I think it helped the penny drop, and settling the order of the numbers in her mind.