Counting out a given number of objects

When you reach for it

Counting a pile answers “how many are there?” Counting out turns that around: you start with a number, “bring me 7”, and have to make a group of exactly that size from a pile that holds more. The child has to keep the number in mind, move each object away from the pile as they count it, and stop when they say the number, even though there are plenty left. It rests on the last word said tells how many, and it is the skill behind every “get me” in daily life, from handing out napkins to building a number in addition.

Each day below takes about ten to fifteen minutes. The pile is always bigger than the number asked for, so stopping is a real choice.

Day 1: Spoons in the cup

You need: a basket of 9 plastic spoons and a cup.

Say a number, “Put 3 spoons in the cup”, and let the child do it. Watch for two things. First, each spoon should leave the basket and go into the cup as its word is said: moving it is what keeps counted ones apart from the rest. Second, the child should stop at “three”. Then ask, “How many are in your cup?” A child who answers “three” at once, without counting again, knows that the last word told them.

If the child keeps going past the number, do not correct. Ask, “How many did I ask for?” and “How many are in the cup?” and let them fix it by putting spoons back. Keep numbers to 5 today.

Practice. Start each one with all 9 spoons in the basket.

1. “Put in 3.” Answer: 3 in the cup, 6 left in the basket of 9.
2. “Put in 5.” Answer: 5 in the cup, 4 left in the basket of 9.
3. “Put in 2.” Answer: 2 in the cup, 7 left in the basket of 9.
4. “Put in 4.” Answer: 4 in the cup, 5 left in the basket of 9.
5. “Put in 1.” Answer: 1 in the cup, 8 left in the basket of 9. No counting past “one” is needed; taking a single spoon is the whole job.

Day 2: Reading an order card

You need: a pile of 15 pom-poms, a small bowl, and number cards for 6 to 10.

Now the number comes from a card, not from your voice. The child turns over a card, reads the numeral (help with the name if needed), and counts that many pom-poms into the bowl. The card stays face up beside the bowl, so it holds the number while the child’s attention is on the counting.

Halfway through a count, ask, “How many are you getting?” Glancing back at the card is a good answer: it is what the card is for. When the bowl is done, ask the child to check by counting the bowl, and to say whether it matches the card.

Practice. Start each one with all 15 pom-poms in the pile.

1. Card A. Answer: 6 in the bowl, 9 left in the pile of 15.
2. Card B. Answer: 9 in the bowl, 6 left in the pile of 15.
3. Card C. Answer: 7 in the bowl, 8 left in the pile of 15.
4. Card D. Answer: 10 in the bowl, 5 left in the pile of 15.
5. During Card D, stop the child after a few pom-poms and ask, “What number are you counting to?” Answer: ten. Pointing at the card and reading it counts as right.

Day 3: Teen numbers on a counting mat

You need: a box of 20 paper clips and a counting mat: two rows of ten boxes drawn on paper.

Numbers past ten are long counts, and losing track is easy. The mat helps: one paper clip goes in each box, top row from left to right first, then the bottom row. The child counts out loud as each clip lands. When the count reaches the number, the clips stop, and the mat shows the result plainly: a full top row is ten, and the bottom row shows how many more. That picture is the start of teen numbers as ten and some ones.

Practice. Start each one with all 20 paper clips in the box.

1. “Put out 14.” Answer: 14 on the mat, 6 left in the box of 20.
2. “Put out 11.” Answer: 11 on the mat, 9 left in the box of 20.
3. “Put out 17.” Answer: 17 on the mat, 3 left in the box of 20.
4. “Put out 20.” Answer: 20 on the mat, 0 left in the box of 20. This time the whole box is used, and the mat is exactly full.
5. Look at the mat in the picture. How many paper clips were counted out? Answer: 14, a full row of ten and 4 more.

Day 4: Filling orders

You need: a box of 18 craft sticks and a few paper bags.

Play shop. You are the customer and say your order: “I’d like 8 craft sticks, please.” The child counts them into a bag, hands it over, and you count the bag together to check. No mat today: the child keeps track by moving each stick into the bag as it is counted.

Then try a bag that was filled wrong. Put some sticks in a bag yourself, say the order, and ask the child to check it. Counting the bag and comparing with the order is the same skill turned into a test, and finding extras to take out is as useful as finding a bag that is right.

Practice. Start each order with all 18 craft sticks in the box.

1. “8 sticks, please.” Answer: 8 in the bag, 10 left in the box of 18.
2. “13 sticks, please.” Answer: 13 in the bag, 5 left in the box of 18.
3. “16 sticks, please.” Answer: 16 in the bag, 2 left in the box of 18.
4. You fill a bag with 15 sticks and say, “My order was 13.” Answer: the child counts the bag, stops at 13, and the 2 sticks not reached go back in the box.
5. “0 sticks, please.” Answer: 0 in the bag, 18 left in the box of 18. The bag stays empty; zero is a real order.

Exercises

1. Look at the dots in the check picture. Circle exactly 12 of them.

2. Set out a bowl of 25 dried pasta pieces and say, “Put 19 on the table.” How many are on the table, and how many stay in the bowl?

Where this goes next

Making a group of a given size is how a child will build each part in joining two groups and set up the starting group in taking away. The counting mat leads into Ten frames and teen numbers as ten and ones. Making two groups of given sizes side by side is also the start of comparing which has more.