How do you make a cookie jar counting activity?

Ours is a homemade worksheet: a big glass jar with twenty cookie-shaped spots inside, each marked with a small number from 1 to 20. Make cookies with a growing number of choc chips — one on the first, twenty on the last. Jin cut the cookies out herself, and we stuck round velcro dots on the cookies and the jar so they can go in and come out again.

When do children learn to count to 20 in New Zealand?

Jin learned the numbers from 1 to 20 in her first term of Year 1 — before starting school she used to muddle even 1 to 10.

What helps a child count past ten?

Repetition with something to touch. Once a cookie has more than ten chips the counting gets tricky, but working through it again and again makes the bigger numbers familiar. We paired it with a counting flip book that goes from 1 to 20 and on to 25, 50, 75 and 100.

Counting 1 to 20 in Year 1: A DIY Cookie Jar Activity

Jin has fallen in love with counting lately. She learned the numbers from 1 to 20 in the first term of Year 1, and watching her — a child who used to muddle even 1 to 10 before she started school — now sail through the teens with ease, I'm reminded how patiently school learning unfolds. She walks the painted numbers around the playground and counts her favourite stickers over and over, layering the numbers in a little more each time.

[Y1] A Cookie Jar of Numbers — Jin's First 1 to 20 — photo 1

[Y1] A Cookie Jar of Numbers — Jin's First 1 to 20 — photo 2

To keep her interest while it was alive, I made her a cookie jar worksheet. A big glass jar with twenty cookie-shaped spots inside, each marked with a small number from 1 to 20. The cookies that go into them carry a growing number of choc chips — one chip for the first cookie, twenty for the last. Jin cut the cookies out herself, and together we stuck round velcro dots on the cookies and the jar. Once a cookie has more than ten chips, the counting gets a little tricky, but she works through it again and again, and the bigger numbers begin to feel familiar.

[Y1] A Cookie Jar of Numbers — Jin's First 1 to 20 — photo 3

[Y1] A Cookie Jar of Numbers — Jin's First 1 to 20 — photo 4

Counting with Books and Activities

I remembered a counting book we had on the shelf and pulled it out, and it turned out to be more interesting than I'd remembered — a flip book that walks through 1 to 20, then 25, 50, 75, and 100. Each numbered flap is punched in the shape of the number, and underneath sit colourful objects or animals to count, plus a page of dots in the matching quantity. We filled the jar with cookies and emptied it back out, matching each cookie to a flap, reading the book, counting choc chips and the little objects on the pages — a whole evening filled with numbers.

She did a unicorn dot-to-dot from Pinterest on her own, and counted out loud with her sisters again and again — both of them still finding it sweet to watch their little sister learn the things they once did. Jin grows a little more every day. It really does happen in the blink of an eye.

한국어 요약

Jin이 요즘 수 세기에 푹 빠졌다. Year 1 첫 학기에 1부터 20까지를 배웠는데, 입학 전엔 1부터 10도 헷갈리던 아이가 이제 10대 숫자를 막힘없이 세는 걸 보며 학교 공부가 얼마나 차근차근 펼쳐지는지 새삼 느낀다. 운동장에 칠해진 숫자를 따라 걷고, 좋아하는 스티커를 세고 또 세며 숫자를 조금씩 쌓아 간다.

관심이 살아 있을 때 이어 가려고 쿠키 병 활동지를 만들었다. 커다란 유리병 안에 1부터 20까지 작은 숫자가 적힌 쿠키 자리가 스무 개 있고, 거기 들어갈 쿠키에는 초코칩이 하나씩 늘어난다. 첫 쿠키는 한 개, 마지막 쿠키는 스무 개다. 쿠키는 Jin이 직접 오렸고, 쿠키와 병에 둥근 벨크로를 함께 붙였다. 초코칩이 열 개를 넘으면 세기가 조금 까다로워지지만, 되풀이하는 사이 큰 수가 낯익어진다.

책장에 있던 수 세기 책도 꺼냈다. 1부터 20, 그리고 25, 50, 75, 100까지 넘겨 보는 플랩 책으로, 숫자 모양으로 뚫린 플랩 아래 셀 거리와 같은 수의 점이 있다. 쿠키를 병에 채웠다 비우고, 플랩과 짝을 맞추고, 책을 읽으며 숫자로 가득 찬 저녁을 보냈다. 언니들도 동생이 자기들이 배우던 걸 배우는 모습을 여전히 귀여워하며 함께 소리 내어 셌다.

Yussi

Writer · Social work student, Massey University

A mother of three girls and a Korean immigrant making Mairangi Bay home — writing about starting school, home learning and everyday life on Auckland's North Shore.

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Frequently asked questions

How do you make a cookie jar counting activity?: Ours is a homemade worksheet: a big glass jar with twenty cookie-shaped spots inside, each marked with a small number from 1 to 20. Make cookies with a growing number of choc chips — one on the first, twenty on the last. Jin cut the cookies out herself, and we stuck round velcro dots on the cookies and the jar so they can go in and come out again.
When do children learn to count to 20 in New Zealand?: Jin learned the numbers from 1 to 20 in her first term of Year 1 — before starting school she used to muddle even 1 to 10.
What helps a child count past ten?: Repetition with something to touch. Once a cookie has more than ten chips the counting gets tricky, but working through it again and again makes the bigger numbers familiar. We paired it with a counting flip book that goes from 1 to 20 and on to 25, 50, 75 and 100.