Hold up 3, 5, or 6 of them and ask him to tell how many you have. When you are told the number you have, write the figure which tells the number on paper, or the blackboard. Have the child copy the figure, making a large character.
Then reverse the work by writing a figure on paper and asking the child to take the number of blocks the writing asks for.
Spend a few minutes every day in asking him to show you 2 pins, 3 houses, 5 stripes, etc.
Teach the child to count 50 as soon as he has started in his number work at school and later on to 100. Objects should be counted at first and then counters substituted, such as pennies, marbles, blocks, beads, etc.
Recognition of Numbers.—The purpose of counting objects is to give the children a clear idea of number. They should be able to recognize 2, 3, 4 and 5, i.e., be able to tell four objects when they see four, without counting them, also 3, 5, etc. Stories and games with objects should be repeated again and again, until the children can do this easily.
Analysis of Numbers.—When the numbers can be recognized without difficulty, the children should be encouraged to analyze them, i.e., tell what they are made up of, but objects should be put in front of the class to represent the numbers until they can do this readily.
Suppose the number five to be the lesson, each child would take five shells out of its box, and lay them on the desk, thus:—
or
