Number Discrimination

Today I thought I'd focus on numbers.  Mostly because I found a really great deal on a sticker numbers workbook for my daughter--just a buck.  Walmart was blowing them out.  I don't usually by workbooks there because the selection is lousy but every now and again they'll have some great deals.  Anyway back to the learning my youngest daughter is only just beginning her work on number discrimination, but my oldest daughter has been working with numbers for quite awhile now and one of the things she loves is color by number pictures.  They are ideal for teaching a child to differentiate between the different number shapes.

It's not difficult to create your own color pages.  However, it can be time consuming.  So here are a couple of websites you can try:

• The All Kids Network features a number of coloring pages ideal for preschoolers.  They also have some popular characters as color by number pages but those pages tend to have numbers in very small print.
• The Coloring website features a large number of coloring pages by both number and letter.  However, many of the pictures have very small spaces to color.
• Crayola has a few color by number pages.  However, some use crayola color names and some introduce the concept of odd and even.
• Print Activities has several color by number pages which I like.  The pictures are all made using geometric shapes so the numbers are easy to see and the shapes easy to color.

Also if your child is familiar with the computer or you want to begin introducing the computer try the Up to Ten site.  The site has a couple of color by number online games:  Daisy (featuring a man's voice) and Marcelino (featuring a woman's voice).

Finally, if you are following the Ready for Kindergarten program the target I was aiming for was matching number shapes.  At one your child should be matching shapes 1 through 3, at two your child should match 1 through 6, at three your child should match 1 through 9 and by four your child should be matching shapes 1 through 12.

My daughter and I have been working on color by number pictures together and at age three she is already matching two digit numbers.  I hope they work as well for your children.