Counting Beads and Toothpicks

 

An easy counting exercise that Bear enjoyed involved making different lengths of playdough (done by Mommy) and counting out the number of beads together on each strip.  She then counted the number of toothpicks as she placed them in each bead.  There was an empty piece of playdough for zero.  Bear continues to insist that zero should be given something, although she will readily tell you that zero means nothing.

What's great about this is that it practices both counting and fine motor skills, as well as hand-eye coordination.