A Peek Inside Our Playroom: Counting the Omer & Numbers/Counting Theme

We counted nine toy cars for the ninth day!

The dust is beginning to settle after the excitement of welcoming home our newest family member and then Pesach. The period between Pesach and Shavuos is a special time as well. Sefiras Ha'Omer, or counting the omer is a way we mark the seven weeks between the two holidays each year. We say special prayers each day as we count and take on certain practices to mark this period of time that will culminate on the 50th day with the sweet holiday of Shavuos--the commemoration of our receiving the Torah. To be quite honest, I had no idea this period of time even existed as a child nor did I even know anything about counting the omer until I was an adult! The deeper meaning behind this time is that we are meant to work on self-refinement as we prepare to renew our special relationship with G-d and His Torah. For young children, it is a great time to introduce both this deeper meaning (at an age appropriate level) while also incorporating the mathematical concepts of counting, one-to-one-correspondence, grouping (seven weeks of seven days) and numbers in general. For very young children, like my toddler, multi-sensory exposure through play is by and far the best way to introduce these developmental concepts. We have set up our play area to incorporate materials that introduce numbers and rudimentary counting activities. We also practice the main bracha (blessing) over the omer each day and introduce a manipulative/small toy in that quantity so he can get a concept through play of what that means.

Our shelf is stocked with some number and counting themed materials, puzzles and games. My toddler especially loves the puzzles (actually a find from our local Dollar Tree). 

A variety of magnetic, foam and felt number manipulatives are great for hands-on exploration, whether it's in a sensory bin, on a magnetic board, in the tub or on our felt wall. 

We found these snap blocks at Target in the fall. Older children can use them to solve simple equations while younger ones can enjoy snapping, building and stacking.

We brought out this learning activity from our previous Community Helpers theme when we learned about teachers. Combining materials like number flashcards (these felt ones are from Target) and mini erasers (these were from Dollar Tree) is a great way to introduce one to one correspondence.

I like to strategically place materials related to our theme all over the place for my little learner to find. He happened to lift up his easel from its tabletop position one afternoon only to discover these little number magnets I'd found at the Dollar Tree.

Eight blocks for the 8th day!

We have incorporated the bracha and counting into our daily davening/circle time routine. My toddler gets quite excited by the element of surprise when I take out this drawstring bag filled with our number of the day and a toy/manipulative. We always enjoy a little time playing with it together and I welcome his desire to add more toys into the mix or work with the material in whatever way interests him. In other words, he need not leave his building limited to 8 woodblocks because it is the eighth day! We do have a couple of other creative ways of tracking our counting on display that you can view below. In addition to counting toys or other small objects, you could also have your child(ren) choose an action to do a number of times to correspond to the number of the day. This allows children to feel that number through whole body learning. Ten jumps on the tenth day is a great way to get on (and off) your feet and just wait until you start creeping up through the thirties--you'll really get your heart rate up then!

At home we use this makeshift abacus to count our seven weeks of seven days. I did this project with my preschoolers last year using cardstock (I couldn't resist the idea of incorporating my fellow number lover, The Count from Sesame Street), yarn and pony beads. The students were able to mostly independently string the beads on of their choice, count their groups of seven and, with assistance, tie off the ends for use at home.

Here is a larger scale abacus using construction paper rings on yarn stapled to a bulletin board. You could create counters in a number of ways, charting one by one with die cuts or paper squares or sticky notes, with a paper chain, on a chart or calendar...

...or with this little DIY tracker using wooden cubes labeled with numbers and the word days. I used 4 cubes and labeled 0-4 on one half and 5-9 on the other. On each cube I wrote the word "days" on the sixth side. You could paint and otherwise decorate them as well. We store and display them on a recycled tin (yes, that's Yoda from Star Wars), though you could also use a match box or simply set them up on any flat surface for display.

Whether you're counting to omer or just looking for ways to incorporate more counting practice into your day, hope you have some fun and inspiration from these simple ideas and activities. We will be back soon with some more fun and learning. Until then...happy playing!