How to Learn to Count to 100

How do you learn to count to 100? The answer is; Play with a timer.

Yes, play is the answer.

Play with a timer, and you may learn to count to 100. This is true for my youngest son. He learned how to count to 100 by playing with a timer.

I bought a set of timers on Amazon over two years ago. I don’t remember why I bought them originally. I know it was not intended to teach my four-year-old how to count. The timers were not for him specifically. I probably bought them to time the kids’ math drills or to set a timer for baking in the oven. Each of these colorful timers have a magnet on the back, and so they were placed on the fridge for easy grabbing.

Somewhere over the past two years, my youngest son took interest in the buttons and the beeps of the timer. First, he began to watch the numbers move as the timer would count down to zero.

He loved how pressing the buttons would make the sharp beep sound, and when the timer reached zero, the beep would repeat in a rhythm. Eventually, he began to play with the minute button and the second button, watching the numbers increase as he pressed them.

He would offer to set the timer for things. He then became “in charge” of setting the timer!

“Could you set a timer for 10 minutes?” I would ask.

Off he would run to grab the timer and start the clock.

He played and played with them. His play would ebb and flow in seasons. Sometimes a week or two would go by without the beep of a timer. Then, he’d remember his “toy” and come looking for it to play with again.

“Beep, beep, beep, beep.” He would press those buttons and watch the numbers.

As crazy as it may seem, we didn’t lose them. He would know where they were. He would remember where he last left them in the house. He just knew.

Last summer we added two more timers to our collection, and they still travel throughout the house or the car, and eventually they find their home on the fridge again.

Learning through Play

In August of 2022, my youngest began Kindergarten.** We began to learn the ABC’s and 123’s; We learned each one, one at a time. He was probably already familiar with these symbols, whether from looking at books, preschool, or regular life. He took to each lesson like a duck to water. He enjoyed learning, but his favorite was the numbers.

As a toddler, this little guy would sit at a book shelf, pull off a book and look through each page. I purposely put board books and picture books on the lowest shelf for him. He would be sitting so sweetly, ‘reading’ each book, and eventually become surrounded by ten to twenty books!

I remember when he first became aware of the words on the pages. I would point to the words sometimes as I read aloud. He began to point too. The first word he learned to read was, “ZOO” from the Dr. Seuss book, Put Me in the Zoo by Robert Lopshire. I would point to the word and say, “Zoo.” As I continued through the story, I would point to the same word on a new page, pause, and he would say, “Zoo.” It became a game to find the word on each page (it’s on most of them!)

Go, Dog. Go! is another great “first words” book. The word, “go” is easy to spot throughout its pages!

All this to say, my boy was very aware of not only the pictures, but the symbols on the pages of books as we read together. He was looking and looking! This little guy was always learning; whether we were reading, playing, traveling somewhere, shopping, or just doing anything. He was always learning.

How he learned to count to 100

Maybe it was when we began Kindergarten that it clicked for him? The numbers on the timer matched his lessons from the day. Or maybe he already knew them years before beginning Kindergarten?

I can’t remember when he first counted to 10, but I’m pretty sure it was early on. It’s possible his older siblings decided to teach him while they were playing together. My daughter loved to pretend to have a school and teach him, and he was happy to play along.

The timers repeated the numbers one to ten, then eleven to twenty, and so on up to ninety-nine; over and over again. The timers counted backwards. The timers counted forwards. The buttons made the numbers grow by one. Whether it was the minutes button or the seconds button, the digits were always in order, all the way up!

We began the official lessons of Kindergarten on August 1st. On September 12th, I found my boy “playing” with the number flashcards in the living room. He was sorting the numbers in groups of tens: The ones family, the tens family, the twenty family, the thirty, etc.

And they were in order! One, Two, Three, etc.

These families went all the way to 100! I was so excited!

He was PLAYING with the cards and sorting them from one to 100, and we’re not even thirty days into the school year!

Right away, it was pretty clear to me that he was beyond some of the math curriculum I had planned for that semester. I’m so grateful that we homeschool, for I can adjust the lessons to him and not the other way around. Yay!

Homeschool win on SO many levels here!

Learning Through Play

He had played and played over the years. He had learned to count to 100.

He didn’t read a book on it. He was just learning the short sounds of the vowels and how to put together three letter words; like “d-o-g” and “j-e-t.”

I didn’t explain the families of numbers, place value, or anything like that yet.

I also didn’t count to 100 for him, and then have him count with me. That would have been tedious, and I don’t know if he knew all the words for the numbers yet. He quickly learned them over the semester.

As we began the math lessons, we would look at the number “1” and count one bear. We would then trace the number “1” on a worksheet and probably point to one thing in the room; 1 candle, 1 stove, 1 refrigerator, 1 mom, 1 boy, etc. (The curriculum I use in Kindergarten progresses so well through the concepts! See the Special Note below.**)

If he was able to sort the numbers, he just had to connect them to their names, like a key that unlocked the door. It was so natural to learn, and they came right to him.

I can’t say I know exactly how he knew or learned the numbers.

I can say that he had the opportunity to play with them, and he learned them!

Tools for Play

• Timers
• Counting Bears
• Uno
• Dice
• Five Crowns
• Magnets
• Puzzles
• Bananagrams
• Dominos
• Rummikub
• Calculator

The items listed here were made available throughout our home, either on shelves or in drawers where my youngest could access it. These games and toys were intended for play and imagination more than following directions or teaching lessons.

My youngest enjoyed playing with each of them in different ways. He would put pieces in bowls or buckets. He lined up the bears on ledges and bookshelves. He stuck ALL the magnets to the fridge. He pressed the buttons of the calculator or timers.

As he turned four and five he began sorting things in like patterns; the colors in Uno, the symbols of Bananagram tiles and number magnets.

Eventually we began to play the game Uno together! I would lay out our decks so we could both see all the cards. We would then take turns matching the symbol or the color to the card in the middle. Fun, simple, and secretly learning all along!

Books for Play (and learning!)

Here’s just a sampling of the books we kept available to read at anytime:

• Put Me in the Zoo
• Fox in Socks
• Spot Tells the Time
• I Can Count
• Curious George’s ABC’s
• Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons
• Go Dog Go
• What was I Scared of?
• I Spy Little Numbers
• Goodnight Moon 123
• Today I Will Fly!

My little guy would look at these books by himself or with a sibling. Sometimes, I would read them with him.

We read and read and read them!

Not for the purpose of teaching or learning. I didn’t explain anything.

We just read them together – throughout our days and weeks – over again – before bed – on the couch – cuddled up together.

He loved it. I loved it. These are magic moments.

Closing Thoughts

Learning to Count to 100 is one of the many milestones for a child. Just as they learn to walk or eat from a spoon, they too will grow to know the letters of the alphabet and the numbers of our world. What better way to learn than through play!

Have you ever been surprised by what your child learns through play?

What toy or tool does your child love to carry with them or get out in the middle of the floor to play with? How are they learning something from that toy?

What books do you keep on the lower shelves at home for easy access? Do you have any favorite picture books?

I’d love to hear your story. Please share in the comments below!

Keep walking friend,

Christina

**Special Note: My favorite Kindergarten curriculum has been Abeka’s Homeschool K5 Phonics, Reading, Writing and Numbers. All three of my children have learned from this curriculum, and they have all enjoyed it and progressed very well. Another blogger I follow, Jamie Erikson at “The Unlikely Homeschool,” has written a very helpful post about using Abeka’s Phonics.

This was the first ‘official’ curriculum I used with my younger two. (My oldest also used it in Kindergarten at the local private school in town.) Without having officially learned the sounds of the letters or the names of the numbers (besides play and reading), they picked up the lessons so easily.

I recommend this Kindergarten curriculum for all 5-7 year-olds just starting with the nuts and bolts of reading. It is excellent, and it makes the list of one of my Top 10 Favorite Curriculums I’ve used in My Homeschool!