PLAY MUSIC We all have a natural love of music. Share this love with your child. Play gentle music or sing when you are together. This is a fun and easy way to expose your child to rhythm and patterns. Lots of nursery rhymes and children’s songs involve counting.

MOVE IN RHYTHM Clap, tap, rock, or kiss your baby in a steady rhythm. Count while you do it. For example, while dressing your infant, tap their tummy three times. Repeat this. Have fun and make silly faces. This is a good way to teach your infant about counting.

COUNT OBJECTS Count groups of things, starting with small numbers. For example, count your child’s toes or pieces of fruit. Infants learn through all of their senses, so hold objects up for your child to see and touch. “Look, there’s one…two bananas. Two bananas.”

COMPARE Provide opportunities for your child to touch and explore things that are the same and different. For example, let your baby shake things that make different sounds, or touch fabrics with different textures. Talk about how they are similar or different.

USE MATH WORDS. When you talk to your infant, use words related to math ideas like quantities and comparisons. For example, words like “more, less, big, small, tall, short, round, square.” You don’t need to set aside special time to do this. You can use math words whenever you are with your child.