Number Sense and Counting: Glossary

You can learn more about how to playfully grow your child's counting skills and understanding of numbers in the Parent Workshop: Number Sense and Counting.

Terms for Parents

• Number sense is the understanding of numbers, counting, ordering, recognizing relationships like more and less than, and even early adding and subtracting.
• One-to-one correspondence involves the act of counting each object in a set only once. For example, when you are counting apples in a basket, every apple gets counted once — not over and over again. This skill helps children understand that each apple is a unique quantity.
• Cardinality is a principle of counting and refers to the total number of objects in a group (set). When you are counting a set of objects, the last number you count is the cardinal number, or the total number of objects in the group. When asked "how many are there?," a child who is still learning cardinality may not know that the last number they counted represents the total and would be the correct response.
• Subitizing is the ability to quickly identify the number of items in a small set without counting out loud. For example, you look at your kitchen table and see four chairs by scanning it instantly.

Math Talk

The more you talk with your child about numbers and counting, the more your child's number sense will grow. Here are some conversation starters to practice with your child:

• "Once upon a time, there were 10 big bears…"
• "Do you want to crack three eggs?"
• "Who has more berries left to eat … you or me?"
• "Let's count the cookies we made."
• "We just ate two cookies. How many do we have left?"
• "How many clean towels do we have? Let's count together."
• "Can you please give me three white socks? One-two-three."
• "I'm missing two blue shirts. One-two. Can you help me find them?"