Identifying numbers of objects taken away 0-5

Tips on how to use this exercise at home and at school.

Identifying numbers of objects taken away 0-5

Early math concepts


If the child does not naturally perceive the number 5 (doesn't need to know the digits, only to know that the quantities of, for example, 2 cubes and 4 cubes are different from each other), it is necessary to give the child enough stimuli to allow them to understand this number field. The child works with a variety of stimuli so that they don't become attached to a given stimulus, its size or orientation (for example, so that the child does not have an idea of the number 4, only as 4 dots laid out in a square, as on a playing dice), thus allowing the child to develop number ideas more effectively.


Why is this exercise important?
Even before starting school, the child shows a sense of counting. He has a natural understanding of the structure of the numbers 1- 5, i.e. he intuitively perceives this number. As a rough guide, we might expect a preschooler to intuitively perceive the structure of the numbers 1-5 or 6. The number labelling comes later.

Who is the exercise suitable for?
In general, it belongs to preschool and early school play. It develops several ideas and reasoning skills.

Methodological recommendations
The child is shown pictures that are different in size or orientation. The child counts or perceives the pictures as a whole. She clicks to continue. The same or fewer of the original pictures remain on the screen and the child has to determine how many pictures have disappeared. Thus, for example, he or she saw ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼, now sees ☼ ☼. How many have disappeared? A well-intuitive child will say the correct answer without thinking. Some people use their fingers and some people don't know what to do. 

In the app, you can choose the range of pictures: 2-4; 4-5; 5-6. We can perceive the number of pictures up to 5 or 6. 

Higher numbers are already counted by grouping, i.e. by grouping objects (we form groups). For example, we count the number of eight pictures in groups of two, three, etc., depending on how they are distributed. We can also support this grouping and offer it in higher classes when counting one by one is too lengthy. For these, the 6-10 setting is appropriate.

Tips for similar activities outside the app
A game like "How many hands do I have under my arm?" can be played with beads, beans, pasta, pebbles, etc.