I’m not really sure if I should say this out loud, but teaching my toddler math intimidates me. I don’t know why. There’s just this fear I have that she will scream and run away and end up hating learning all because I tried to teach her something.
That’s just crazy, right?
Anyway, I put off really sitting down and teaching Elena (just turned 3 at the time) how to count and then this little activity happened.
We were just sitting together, playing with play dough and enjoying each other’s company, when I thought, hey why not teach her to count by squishing play dough balls?
And for some reason, this idea to teach counting did not intimidate me. Also Elena ended up having a blast with it.
I’m not entirely certain what made her so receptive to learning.
Maybe she was just in the right mood.
Maybe it was because we were in the middle of our one-on-one time together.
Maybe I’m more awesome than I realize.
Probably not! But whatever the reason, it kind of “broke the ice” as far as getting me to not be so nervous about teaching my own kid real math concepts.
I love this simple counting game because
- It takes no time to set up. In fact, toddlers can help with the set up and that will also extend their play time. Hurray!
- It’s a very hands-on way to count. Counting is such a complex skill for little ones. Seeing each play dough ball get squished and the act of flattening it will help them remember not to count it again!
How to Play The Count and Squish Math Game
In this game, toddlers line up little play dough balls and squish each one as they count them. This helps kids learn one-to-one correspondence, which simply means they learn to count each object one at a time.
For this activity, all you need is play dough… and a toddler.
Even if your toddler isn’t counting yet, you can still get into this game. Just count aloud for them as they squish each ball.
First, roll play dough into little balls.
Line them up and get ready to count!
Elena was just starting to learn to count, so I counted aloud with her to keep her on track.
1-2-3-4!
As we counted, she squished a play dough ball for each number we said.
And then we rolled the play dough back into balls and did it again, gradually adding more play dough balls to count to ten.
Variations of the Count & Squish Game
We also counted play dough balls and stuck popsicle sticks in them as we counted.
Here they are standing straight up.
And then Elena counted the sticks a second time, this time knocking each stick down as we counted out loud.
What I’m Learning About Toddler Activities
So through all this, I realized that playing and learning can go hand in hand. What I typically think of as learning, which is really formal learning like in school, isn’t really necessary or helpful to toddlers.
They might occasionally benefit from you showing, or modelling, how to do something, but mostly toddlers learn through play.
My hope is that by playing to learn, my daughter will grow to love learning and will independently seek knowledge and ask questions for herself.
That’s why we don’t do flashcards or worksheets around here. There’s a time and a place for them, but it’s not right now. Not when my girls aren’t even old enough to be in school.
They’ll have plenty of opportunities for formal learning once they enter the school system. And honestly, I’m not even totally certain our way of schooling is the best way to learn.
Your Turn to Play the Count & Squish Math Game
Anyway, if you’re still here, reading this, I hope you get inspired to help your kids play more.
My husband and I built this whole website around this idea that we want our kids to play more and have less screen time. And I’m seeing every day just how beneficial it is to just let. them. play.
Hope you try this count and squish math game to help your toddler learn about counting as they play!
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