![]() ![]() We already discussed why skip counting will be helpful for a child’s math success as they get older! Knowing this, why not give them an almost effortless way to learn how to skip count with songs?! ![]() They memorize things so much easier than adults! (Again, the neuroscience research on this is interesting, if you’re into that sort of thing.) Chances are that when you had your own young children, you remembered Mary Had a Little Lamb from your childhood even though you hadn’t sung it in 25 years! Volumes of memory science & neuroscience research prove this, and you can read about that if you love to nerd out like that.īut the bottom line is, we all know that if something is sung, we are way more likely to remember it – commercial jingles, church songs, children’s songs. We all have quickly learned the lyrics to a song that was played over and over. The kids who knew how to skip count early on picked up the harder math concepts more easily as they went through their math education. I’ve observed the same thing play out for countless homeschool families in our co-ops and hybrid schools. ![]() They all get it because we used math programs that developed good number sense & because they learned to sing skip counting songs when they were 4-5 years old. I have now taught my own children time, money, and eventually multiplication with relative ease. Small gear based clock – Under $10 on Amazon! – we’ve used this to teach time to every 5-6 year old in our house WHAT?! That is confusing!! SKIP COUNTING MAKES IT EASIER THOUGH! The numbers on an analog clock are numbered 1-12, but they are counted by 5s.There are 24 hours in a day divided into 2 repeating sets of 12.Learning to tell time on a clock and understanding the basic principles of time are much easier for a child who already knows how to skip count. The exact same principle applies to learning time on a clock. Learning to count money is much easier for a child who already knows how to skip count. They still don’t 100% understand the entire abstract value system of money, but they know that the thickest, medium-size silver coin gets counted by 5s and that they can count it! (And that being able to do this in a store will result in candy – haha) Let’s bring some nickels with us to the store next time and we’ll count our nickels by fives to buy a piece of candy.” We can buy a piece of candy for 60 cents or 100 cents. He copies you and slides the nickels across the table, successfully counting by 5s. It’s easier to count money if you learn skip counting first! The child joins in because they already know how to count by 5s (and probably take pride/ joy in it because it feels fun to them at this age!) You pull out 12 nickels and as you slide each one across the table, you say “5-10-15-20-25-30” etc. (Perhaps the child already learned that in kindergarten.) Then you demonstrate that nickels are worth 5 cents and we count nickels by 5. You explain different coins are worth different amounts. You sit down for the introduction-to-nickels lesson. ![]() At the time, he had no clue what the numbers meant but the tune was fun so it stuck in his brain. He learned a little song or chant when he was 4 or 5 years old. Imagine, on the other hand, that the child already knows how to count by 5s, 10s, and 25s. So now they have to understands the concept that the coins are worth arbitrary amounts AND have to learn how to count by 5s, 10s, and 25s simultaneously. Then, they learn there are actually 4 coins: one is worth 1 cent, one is worth 5 cents, one is worth 10 cents, and the big one is worth 25 cents.īut the child doesn’t really know what cents are, and he doesn’t know how to count by 5s or 10s or 25s. Many young children barely ever seen someone paying cash & change for something. Plus, most people pay with debit or credit cards nowadays. The idea that these coins (which look like toys) & pieces of paper are exchanged for valuable goods… it’s pretty abstract to begin with. The whole concept of money is abstract for a young child. Think about being 6 years old and learning that nickels are worth 5 cents. Having the skip counting number sequences at the tip of your tongue accelerates understanding in harder concepts (and math facts) down the road. Skip counting songs set the students up for success in counting anything in groups – time, money, dividing by equal groups, fractions, etc. Skip counting is the precursor to learning multiplication tables. Learning to skip count before learning the concept of multiplication helps students master multiplication facts more easily down the road. ![]()
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