FEBRUARY Book Babies + Toddlers: “C” is for Counting

by | Feb 5, 2025 | Blog, Book Babies, Kid's Corner, Toddler Time | 0 comments

One, two, three, count with me. It’s as easy as can be! Teaching numbers at an early age can be great fun! Here are some fun ways to introduce numbers to your infant or toddler:

👶 0-1 Year (Introduction to Numbers)

  • Talk & Count: Count fingers, toes, and everyday objects while talking.

  • Sing Counting Songs: Simple rhymes like “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe,” “Five Little Ducks,” “Zoom, Zoom, Zoom,” and “Ten in the Bed,” are great rhymes for introducing numeracy.

  • Show Numbers: High-contrast number books are perfect for counting as your baby’s eyes are developing.

👧 1-2 Years (Recognition & Basic Counting)

  • Point & Count Objects: Count toys, snacks, or steps while walking.

  • Use Hands-On Toys: Stacking cups, number puzzles, blocks and even socks are excellent “toys” to learn counting.

  • Finger Play: Counting on fingers helps build number association.

  • Repetition & Rhymes: Continue singing songs and reading books with numerical concepts.

 

Book Babies: Wednesday @ 9:30am in Community Room

Ages 0 – 10 months

Toddler Time: Monday & Tuesday @ 9:30am in Community Room

Ages 11 – 23 months

Welcome Songs

Here We Are Together

Here we are together, together, together! Oh, here we are together in our library. There’s (sing names)… Here we are together in our library!

Hello Everybody

Hello everybody let’s clap our hands*, clap our hands, clap our hands. Hello everybody let’s clap our hands today! *pat our head, stretch up high, wiggle our fingers, tickle our knees, kick our feet, bounce up high!

S, T, R, W, P

(Sing while pointing to each finger on your child’s hand.) Sing, talk, read, write, play! Sing, talk, read write, play! Sing, talk, read, write, play! Sing, talk, read, write, play each day!

Sing, Talk, Read, Write, Play

TIP

Musical rhythms and rhymes encourage spontaneous movement that strengthens the child’s body and helps to develop sensory control. Large movements, such as those in knee bounces, help develop gross motor skill. – “Reading Picture Books With Children” by Lambert

 

Activity

While reciting the rhyme, “Trot, Trot to Boston,” gently bounce your baby on your outstretched legs and gently drop her between your legs on the last line of the verse. Then, bounce your baby again and lean to the side at the end of the second verse. For toddlers, sit on the floor and bounce outstretched legs up and down, then lean to one side as far as possible for the last line of both verses.

 

Books Presented

Book cover for Five Little Chicks by Nancy Tafuri

Five Little Chicks by Nancy Tafuri

Five chicks and their mother peck in the corn patch in search of breakfast.
Book cover of One-osaurus, Two-osaurus by Kim Norman

One-osaurus, Two-osaurus by Kim Norman

Look there, in a child’s bedroom, where some prehistoric pals are gathered in a counting game. Nine dinosaurs are playing a sing-song rendition of hide-and-seek – but something isn’t adding up. Where is number ten? Stomp, stomp, stomp! CHOMP, CHOMP, CHOMP! Ready or not, here he comes, and he sounds . . . big! With big, bold numerals, an array of dinosaurs in comical poses, and a humorous twist at the end, this tribute to a child’s imagination makes learning numbers a gigantic treat.
Book cover for Ten Tiny Tickles by Karen Katz

Ten Tiny Tickles by Karen Katz

Family members awaken a baby with tickles, from one little tickle on a lovely sleepy head to ten tiny tickles on the toes. On board pages.

Book cover for Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin

Pete the cat loves the buttons on his shirt so much that he makes up a song about them, and even as the buttons pop off, one by one, he still finds a reason to sing.
Book cover for Big Fat Hen by Keith Baker

Big Fat Hen by Keith Baker

Big Fat Hen counts to ten with her friends and all their chicks.

Book cover for Counting Kisses by Karen Katz

Counting Kisses by Karen Katz

How many kisses does a tired baby need to change her from crying into sleeping?
Book cover for Five Little Ducks by Teri Weidner

Five Little Ducks by Teri Weidner

A duck with a feather on his back leads his siblings with a “quack, quack, quack.” End notes list the benefits of children’s poems and songs.
Book cover for Ten Little Fish by Audrey Wood

Ten Little Fish by Audrey Wood

It’s an undersea countdown in the newest book by bestselling author Audrey Wood and her dynamic, digital-artist son, Bruce. Follow ten little fish as they swim along a beautiful ocean reef, one by one departing from the school for different reasons, eventually leaving one fellow all alone. What will he do? Along comes another, and that makes two! Soon he becomes a father and she becomes a mother–with ten little children of their own. The rhyming text helps readers go from one to ten and back again, and each illustration pops with all the color and depth of an underwater playground.
Book cover for Five Little Ducks: First Book of Nursery Games by Ailie Busby

Five Little Ducks: First Book of Nursery Games by Ailie Busby

Spend time with your toddler exploring this delightful book of nursery games. Here you’ll find many well-known games, with a sprinkling of modern variations, for every occasion in a young child’s day. This book is bound to become a much-loved addition to every nursery bookcase.
Book cover for Doggies: A Counting and Barking Book by Sandra Boynton

Doggies: A Counting and Barking Book by Sandra Boynton

Dogs of all shapes and sizes bark from one to ten.
Book cover for Brown Bear and Friends 1 2 3 by Eric Carle

Brown Bear and Friends 1 2 3 by Eric Carle

From Eric Carle’s Brown Bear and Friends comes an exciting new novelty crinkle board book original exploring the perennial favorite: counting and numbers! Brown Bear delights in each number from 1 to 10 in this charming counting book. With rhythmic, rhyming, read-aloud text, and an oh-so-touchable crinkle novelty cover, it’s perfect for the youngest of readers. Featuring Eric Carle’s bright, distinctive artwork, each number introduces a group of foods, animals, sounds, and so much more. It’s an exploration of numbers and counting that will engage all of the senses!
Book cover for A Little Book About 123s by Leo Lionni

A Little Book About 123s by Leo Lionni

Learn numbers with a playful group of mice planning a party.

Songs, Rhymes, and Fingerplays

Bouncing, Bouncing, Baby on my Knee

Bouncing, bouncing, baby on my knee.
Bouncing, bouncing, 1 – 2 – 3!

Clapping, clapping, baby on my knee.
Clapping, clapping, 1 – 2 – 3!

Rocking, rocking, baby on my knee.
Rocking, rocking, 1 – 2 – 3!

Source: Jbrary

Here is the Beehive

Here is the beehive
But where are all the bees?
Hiding away where nobody sees.
Here they come flying out of their hive.
One, two, three, four, five!

Here is the beehive.
But where are all the bees?
Hiding away where nobody sees.
Here they come flying out of their hive.
One, two, three, four, five!

Buzz up high. Buzz down low.
Buzzing fast. Buzzing slow.
Buzz to the left. Buzz to the right.
Buzz all day but sleep at night.

Here is the beehive.
But where are all the bees?
Hiding away where nobody sees.
Here they come flying out of their hive.
One, two, three, four, five!

Source: Super Simple

Jumping and Counting

Jump Jump Jump Jump
Jumping high are we.
But we’ll stop jumping
While we count to three.

Jump Jump Jump Jump
Jumping even more.
But we’ll stop jumping
While we count to four.

Jump Jump Jump Jump
Just like pogo sticks.
But let’s stop jumping
While we count to six.

Jump Jump Jump Jump
Jumping then we wait.
We stop our jumping
While we count to eight.

Jump Jump Jump Jump
Jumping once again.
But we’ll be finished
Once we count to ten.

Source: Jim Gill

Bubble, Bubble, Pop!

One little red fish
Swimming in the water,
Swimming in the water,
Swimming in the water.

One little red fish
Swimming in the water,
Bubble, bubble, bubble, bubble…POP!

Source: Jbrary

1, 2, Shake it on Your Shoe

1, 2, shake it on your shoe
3, 4, shake it on the floor
5, 6, stir and mix
7, 8, stand up straight
9, 10 wave to your friends

Source: Jbrary

Trit Trot to Boston

Trit-trot to Boston, Trit-trot to Lynn,
Watch out little baby, or you might fall in!
Trit-trot to Boston, Trit-trot to Dover,
Watch out little baby, or you might fall over!

Source: King County Library System

Ten in the Bed

There were ten in the bed
and the little one said
roll over, roll over
So they all rolled over 
and one fell out

There were 9 in the bed…
Count down to zero.

Source: Jbrary

Five Little Seashells

5 little seashells lying on the shore,
Swish! went the waves, and then there were 4.
4 little seashells, cozy as could be,
Swish! went the waves, and then there were 3.
3 little seashells, all pearly new,
Swish! went the waves, and then there were 2.
2 little seashells, lying in the sun,
Swish! went the waves, and then there was 1.
1 little seashell, left all alone,
I whispered “Shhh” as I took it home !!

Source: King County Library System

The Way the Baby Grows

Five fingers on this hand,
Five fingers are on that.

A dear little nose,
A mouth like a rose,
Two cheeks so tiny and fat.

Two eyes, two ears,
And ten little toes.
That’s the way the baby grows.

Source: 1001 Rhymes and Fingerplays by Totline Staff

Baby Sign Language

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