Help your kids learn numbers in Chinese with this fun activity!

Sadie’s been getting more interested in counting with her fingers lately (2YO) so I thought I can come up with some activities to help her start recognizing Chinese characters for numbers. This is also a great way to help little ones make connections between a number and a quantity.

I came across these fun touch and feel counting cards by a Nadia, a super creative mom in South Africa and thought I would try to recreate it using Chinese numbers.

The previous two activities I’ve tried to make to get Sadie interested in Chinese numbers were a flop. I thought that since she loves the color pink and she’s really into hearts, this would better capture her interest. 

Instructions

Time: About an hour (I wasn’t in a hurry, listening to a podcast as I made these)

Materials:

• sturdy cardboard box cut into 4″x7″ (10cmx18cm) rectangles (or whichever size you prefer.
• hot glue gun & glue sticks (I recommend low temp hot glue gun so you don’t burn yourself and it’s safer for little ones to be around)
• pipe-cleaners. *tip: I found a huge pack at a thrift store (aka treasure trove for affordable crafting materials)
• heart foam stickers I found at Walmart for $2. Here are similar ones on Amazon. Keep in mind you need 55 foam stickers. (Hobby Lobby, Oriental Trading Company or even the dollar store will have something similar. I suggest using something that your child would be interested in counting like these ones. You can go with something neutral like wood coins)

 I’m really glad I took the time to create this for her because we’ve gotten a lot of use out of them not to mention really cute.

Here’s another version of this activity from our_little_playroom. Instead of the foam hearts, she hot glued nuts for her little one to place pom poms on. Also, the way she placed the nuts is the recommended placement for Montessori math materials. I wasn’t aware of this at the time I created these and may try to change it in the future.

This is another fun hands on learning option to consider and try.  

Good luck! What counting activities have worked well for your kids? Please share below. Let me know if you try to make this too and don’t forget to tag us (@spotofsunshineChinese) so we can check it out! 

More Resources to Help You Have Fun Teaching Your Kids Chinese!

• Plan Your Best Year of Teaching Your Kids Chinese 計畫成功的一年
• Chinese Character Game for Kids with Snow!
• How Chinese Became Our Daughter’s Dominate Language at Age 2
• The Secret to Learning Chinese: How My Husband Did it in 2.5 Years
• TOP 6 RESOURCES FOR DOING FAMILY DEVOTIONS IN CHINESE 家庭靈修資源