One to One Correspondence
For the youngest children, one to one correspondence is one of the first math skills we need to teach. This is the idea that each time you count, it corresponds with one of whatever you are counting.
As you are teaching your child to count, you can have them move one of that object each time they say a number.
You can also have them touch one thing each time they say a number. When they are counting on their own as you observe, notice if they just say numbers quickly as they seem to be pointing, but maybe saying more than one number per item, etc, and slow them down and help them understand that each number represents one of the thing that they are counting.
You could do this printable that I’ve created where your child will color each “crayon” and glue one crayon per box. This is a simple activity to see if they understand the concept of one to one correspondence and/or give them an opportunity to practice using this skill. It’s also great for practice with coloring, cutting, and following directions. Click here to download it and also scroll to the printables section on this page for more free printable PDFs that can help with teaching and assessing the concept of one to one correspondence.
Resources to teach this concept:
- Videos
- Websites
- Book Recommendations (read alouds, textbooks, or curriculum)
- Titus Mom Printables
- Recommended Activities
- Hands On Lessons (Manipulatives)
- Household Objects/At Home ways to teach/support this concept and make it relevant to real life
Book Recommendations
Read Alouds:
- Bedtime in the Jungle: This book is one of my all time favorites to read to my children, especially for counting. It has beautiful illustrations and it is a perfect bedtime book that also helps your child learn to count and learn one to one correspondence. Each page has the mother with her babies and you can count the babies in the page as you count up to 10. It’s such a fun read and I highly recommend it!