Show and Tell: Counting My Favorite Things to 10

It's Friday, and that means Show and Tell! Maya brings in a bag of 7 shiny marbles. Before she tells the class about them, she lines them up in a row and counts them out loud: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Counting isn't just for math time — we count things we love, every single day!

In this lesson, you will: - Count a group of objects one at a time, up to 10 - Show that the last number you say tells how many there are - Line objects up so none get skipped or counted twice - Compare two groups to see which has more

When you count a pile of toys, touch just one toy for every number you say. If you touch two toys while saying only 'three,' your count will be wrong! Try lining up your toys in a straight row first — that makes it much easier to touch each one exactly once.

Here's a math secret: the very last number you say when counting is the total amount. If you count 5 crayons — 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 — then '5' is how many crayons you have, not just the name of the last crayon. This idea is called cardinality, and it's one of the biggest ideas in early counting.

If Maya has 7 marbles and her friend Leo has 4 toy cars, who has more? Line both groups up side by side, one item across from another. Whichever row runs out of matches first has fewer! Maya's row of marbles keeps going after Leo's cars stop, so Maya has more.