Popsticks are fun anytime. ELP 2 had a fun activity with popsticks to get them familiarised with numbers and to help them understand the quantity of numbers. The counting activity used number cards and coloured pop sticks. The cards and counters bring the abstract to the concrete, allowing the children to feel the units as they count.
After a demo from the facilitator, first the children placed the number cards in the numerical order. The coloured pop sticks were used as counters for this activity. Children were made to understand that each pop stick represented one unit. The little ones read the number on the card and counted and kept the correct number of pop sticks on each card. It was a great opportunity for the children to practice counting out loud, recognise, name numbers and also develop an understanding of the value of numbers.
The children also double checked if the number on the card and the number of pops ticks kept were same .If there are too few or too many pop sticks, the child learnt that she/he has to take a second look at the counters to make sure she/he has counted correctly. This activity helped the children to be confident in their numerical skills with minimal help from their teachers.
