Counting to 100: strategies that build real number sense

For: Ages 4-7, parents. Updated 2026-10-15.

Many children can recite "one, two, three" long before they can count a pile of buttons correctly. Reciting is a memory skill. Counting objects needs three more ideas: touch each object once, say one number per object, and know that the last number said tells you how many there are.

Four signs a child is counting with understanding

1. They move or touch each object as they count it, without skipping or double counting.
2. When asked "How many?", they answer with the last number instead of counting again.
3. They know that moving the objects around does not change how many there are.
4. They can start counting from a number other than one, for example "seven, eight, nine".

Why 29 to 30 is hard

The decade changes (19 to 20, 29 to 30, 39 to 40 and so on) are where most children stall. The words do not follow an obvious pattern: "twenty" does not sound like "two-ty". It helps to bundle sticks or straws into tens as you count. When you reach ten loose sticks, wrap them with a rubber band. The new bundle is the moment the counting word changes.

A five-minute routine

• Monday to Wednesday: count real objects into groups of ten, then count the groups: "ten, twenty, thirty, and four more is thirty-four".
• Thursday: count backwards from 20, then from a decade such as 43 down to 37.
• Friday: count on from a number the child picks, crossing at least one decade.

Keep it short. A few minutes of accurate counting each day does more than one long session that ends in guessing.

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