Count ducks, ladybugs and butterflies, feed a hungry frog exactly enough flies, then count by twos, fives and tens, estimate a jar of marbles and build numbers out of tens and ones.
The big ideas
What the levels teach, in grown-up words.
One number for each thing. Counting means touching or pointing at each thing once and saying one number for it. The last number you say is how many there are.
Numbers tell you when to stop. If the frog wants five flies, you count the flies as you give them and stop at five. That is how counting is used in real life.
Skip counting is counting in jumps. Two, four, six counts pairs; five, ten, fifteen counts hands; ten, twenty, thirty counts boxes of ten. It gives the same answer faster.
Tens and ones. In 34, the 3 means three tens (thirty) and the 4 means four ones. Ten single ones are the same as one ten, which is why we trade them.
An estimate is a smart guess. Before counting a big pile, guessing about how many trains the eye. Then counting in tens shows how close the guess was.
Try it at home
Quick experiments that match the game.
Count the stairs. Count out loud going up the stairs, touching each step with a foot. Then count them coming down, backwards.
Snack counting. Ask for exactly six grapes or four crackers. Count them onto the plate together and stop at the number.
Sock pairs. Pair up clean socks and count them by twos. Then count fingers by fives with everyone's hands on the table.
Jar guess. Fill a jar with buttons or dry beans, each guess how many, then count them into piles of ten to find out.
Ask after playing:
What number did the frog want, and how did you know when to stop?
Which is faster: counting eggs one at a time or by boxes of ten? Why?