Teaching Number Recognition?

[NavyMommy]

I would love to hear any idea you have for teaching number recognition to a 5 year old. She can count to 100 and can tell me all of the numbers in order, but I recently realized that when the numbers are taken out of context she can't figure out numbers greater than 11. For example she's doing Horizons K for math and really loves it (she always asks for it first) but today I stopped the lesson because she couldn't tell me what numbers to write to write 13. 

 

My natural inclination is always to use flashcards, but since she has no context and really doesn't know the number I'm showing her she freezes and starts crying. I've also tried using a 100 number chart to get her to see the numbers a little more in context with others but I think there are so many numbers there she isn't focusing on the specific digits needed to make a certain number. I may try a paint dotter with a number chart and call out numbers and see how that goes.

 

I'm tempted to put a pause on Horizons to make sure she has this solid before we continue on. Do you think that's a good idea? I don't want her to keep struggling because she doesn't know how to make the numbers, I want to make sure she has a good foundation but I am out of ideas. There's also the possibility that this is a completely normal thing and maybe I'm expecting to much? I'm not sure how much hand-holding is recommended. She can tell me the answer is 18 but not be able to write it down, should I keep giving her the digits? (If I tell her it's a 1 and an 8 she can write that no problem). 

 

Thanks in advance for any help! 

[Miss Tick]

Very common problem, my 5yo dd has the same trouble, particularly with the teens. Every couple of days we play "First to 100" which I found at math-salamanders.com. We each have to say the number we land on.

 

When my dd says the wrong name for a number, I take the time to say something like, "this is twelve, it has one group of ten and two units" I'm hoping that will help teach place value ideas while we are working on number names. Does Horizons user manipulatives to show groups of ten? Working with those also helps make the number names clearer.

 

I would keep moving on and doing new things, but add in games, and take time to explain (over and over) the correct names. If you try that and after a few weeks don't feel like there has been any improvement, you could look at an alternate naming scheme as a temporary approach. I think Right Start math teaches those numbers as "tenty-one, tenty-two, etc." for awhile. Bet you won't need it, though.

[NavyMommy]

Thank you so much for this! I am glad to hear it's normal! She hasn't really done much with place value so I've just been trying to get her to repeat the digits in the number when we read it. (twenty one is a two and a one). We will just keep plugging along. There are some pages at the back for handwriting practice that I think I will copy and get her to write the teens and twenties and say the number along with it, that should help too. 

 

I also really love that math website, thank you!!

 

Oh, and she's a normal K age. She has a late birthday so she won't be 6 until August, but if we had put her in school she would have been in K this year. 

[carriede]

Do you do any calendar work with her? With DS (and now with DD too), we look at the calendar everyday. We find today's number, then I'll help DD count from 1 to that number - we point to each number as we say it. Then DS will tell me what the date is - day if the week, month, date, and year.

 

I think counting every day on the calendar has helped DS with route recognition. He does still have trouble too though. I agree that the teens are hard!