Autumn Number Recognition

Use Autumn leaves and conkers or Acorns to create an exciting counting activity for children. This is also a great way for children to explore natural objects and observe the changes they go through. 

I set up the dining table with ten leaves which I had written the numbers 1-10 with permanent pen and a collection of conkers we had collected at out local park. I then invited Little Man to come and help me sort the conkers to make a number line. 

Little Man does not yet recognise his numbers so this activity was designed to help him start to recognise them but also to practice his counting objects and sorting. 

This took a while for Little man to get the hang of. To begin with I found he wanted to add one conkers below each and then once he had done this we went back over looking at the number on the leaf, checking how many conkers we had and counting on adding more conkers to get the correct number. 

He was very proud once he had finished and afterward I left him to play with them while I sat back and watched. He enjoyed filling the leaves with as many as he could fit on and lining as many conkers as he could underneath. 

There are many ways you could copy this activity to get the same learning opportunities. Although this is a much more formal way of learning I plan to continue with this method to help Little Man learn his numbers. 

Links to Development Matters:

Physical Development

Personal, Social and Emotional Development: Self-confidence and self-awareness

• Welcomes and values praise for what they have done.

• Enjoys responsibility of carrying out small tasks.

Communication and Language: Listening and attention

• Is able to follow directions 

Mathematics: Numbers

• Recognise some numerals of personal significance. 

• Recognises numerals 1 to 5.

• Counts up to three or four objects by saying one number name for each item.