Learn Numbers 1 to 20

Counting is not one skill but three, and small children learn them in order: saying the number words in the right order, matching one word to one object as they point, and knowing that the last word they said is how many there are. This game shows all three together. The numeral appears beside its word, both are read aloud, then the objects arrive one at a time while the count is said aloud, and each number ends by naming the total, so a child hears that five pictures makes five.

How to Play Learn Numbers 1 to 20

Press Start. A number appears with its word, and the grey shapes below show how many pictures are coming. They fill in one at a time, counted out loud, with the count under each picture. Each picture waits for the number before it to be said in full, so nothing is rushed and no number is skipped. When the last one lands, the game says the total, such as four apples, and moves on to the next number by itself.

A child can also tap the pictures to bring the next one in themselves, which is the better way to use it once they are counting along, because pointing at each object while saying its number is exactly the skill being learned. Anywhere in the group of pictures works, so a small finger never has to find one small square. Every number from 1 to 20 sits in the row above the board, so you can jump straight to the one you want instead of waiting for it.

The Practice Round

Learn does the counting for your child. Practice asks them to do it: a group of pictures appears, and they count it by tapping each picture in turn. Only the next picture in the line answers a tap, so a child has to count from one rather than jump to the end, and the number they tapped last is their answer. Then they tap how many there are from three numbers.

A right answer is cheered. A wrong one is never left hanging: the game counts the whole group out loud from one, One, Two, Three, all the way to the total, which is where a child hears the number they missed. Ten questions make a round, drawn from the whole 1 to 20 range.

What a Child Is Learning

The US Common Core expects a kindergartner to count to 100 by ones (K.CC.A.1), to write numbers to 20, to pair each object with one number word as they count (K.CC.B.4) and to answer how many after counting a group (K.CC.B.5). The learn side practices the pairing and the total, and the practice round asks the how many question directly, which is the step most children need time on.

Recognizing the numeral is a separate skill again, so each number is shown large beside its word, and both are read aloud. Children who can count aloud to twenty often cannot yet point at the digit 14 and name it, and seeing the digit, the word and the objects together is what joins them up.

Using It with a Young Child

Sit beside them for the first run and count out loud together. Point at the screen as each picture lands, because the pointing is what teaches one to one matching.

When the total is said, ask it again yourself: how many apples? A child who counts the objects again instead of answering four is still learning that last step, and that is normal at three and four.

Follow it with something they hold. Count five spoons at the table, then five toys, so the number is not only a thing on a screen. To practice writing the numerals afterwards, the number tracing activity traces 1 to 50 with a finger, and the counting game asks a child to count objects and pick the right number.

Questions Parents and Teachers Ask