Interactive Learning: Building Math Skills by Teaching Toddlers Counting and Addition with Flashcards and Dominoes

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Here’s a quick post about a frequent engaging and educational activity I do with my energetic three-year-old son at home.  I remembered that years ago when I was teaching a kindergarten class, one of their favorite manipulatives was Dominoes so I thought I'd give them a shot with my preschooler.  Always eager to explore numbers, my little one showed off his counting skills in a fun and interactive learning session right on our living room rug.

We used a set of number flashcards, ranging from 1 to 20, alongside a collection of Dominoes, which included doubles up to nines, covering totals from 1 to 18. The task was simple yet stimulating: match the total dots on a Domino to the corresponding numbered flashcard. This visual and tactile approach to learning not only helped him understand numbers better but also made it a lot of fun!

​To add a twist, we incorporated addition into the game. We arranged flashcards into equations like 1+2=3. My son then demonstrated the solution through Dominoes in two ways. First, by finding a single domino that depicted the equation directly—such as a domino with two dots on one side of the line and one dot on the other side. Alternatively, he could gather multiple dominoes that summed up to the answer—like two separate dominoes with one dot on teh first domino and two dots on the second. 

​This activity is not just a learning experience but a fun bonding time, full of laughs and learning (and lots of flipping around between getting each Domino -- boys will be boys lol).  Overall, it's always a joy to see him light up as he connects with concepts in a hands-on manner.

If you haven't tried this activity with your kiddos, I highly recommend it. Engaging young minds in such playful learning not only nurtures their mathematical skills but also their enthusiasm for discovering new things!

Please take a moment to share your comments below. 
​Your feedback is always appreciated!

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