Counting

To keep counting from being monotonous, I like to have my kindergarten students perform motions while counting.  I have had them clap, snap, hop, stomp, golf clap, clap the tabletop, tap the top of their heads, and a variety of other motions.  We have also used the mini slinkies.  Students hold the slinky together in front of them, and they stretch as they say 1.  Then, they move the slinky back together.  The same is done as they continue counting.  At the beginning of the year, I start with 1-10.  Then, I expand as they learn their numbers.  For counting by 2s, they can hold up two fingers and tap them on their other wrist as they count.  For counting by 5s, they can show an open hand as they say "5."  They will close their fingers and open them again when they say "10," and so on.  For counting by 10s, they can open both hands (showing 10 fingers) and hit their knees or table top while counting by 10s.  Of course, you can use a variety of manipulatives as well.  They can count with counters on the table top or on a cookie sheet.  I also have metal rimmed counters that I use for counting.  I hand a generous handful of these counters to each child.  I call out a number and they will count out that number of counters.  I use a magnetic wand to pick up counters that have been counted correctly.  They enjoy seeing them swept off of the table.  You can also go back to the Set Matching Game as well.