2.5y–4.2y12 minSocial playFamily timeFree play
Puppet Band Counter
A pretend-play ‘puppet club’ where your child has a real reason to count: giving one band per friend, checking who has one, and changing the number of guests.
What you'll need
Essentials
- 3–5 soft toys/dolls/puppets (the ‘friends’)
- 6–12 bands to count (e.g., wrist bands, hair ties, paper loops, or strips of paper)
- a bowl or small bag (to hold the bands)
Nice to have
- paper and a marker/crayon (for quick number marks)
- a small table or floor space to line up the friends
Movement level: low
What you'll do
The 4-step guide, with what to look for at each step, is for signed-in parents.
What this develops
- Milestonecounts up to 5Mind· 2.5y–3.3y· stretch· Step 1
- MilestoneCounts objects one-to-oneMind· 4y–4.5y· stretch· Step 1
- MilestoneRecites the counting sequenceMind· 4y–5y· stretch· Step 1
- MilestoneGives meaning to own drawings or marksMind· 2.8y–3.8y· stretch· Step 4
- MilestonePretends with imagined roles or thingsMind· 2y–3y· core· Steps 2, 3
- MilestoneUses mark-making toolsBody· 22mo–2.8y· stretch· Step 4
What it practices
- Uses some number names and number language spontaneously.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
- Uses some number names accurately in play.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
- Recites numbers in order to 10.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
- Knows that numbers identify how many objects are in a set.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
- Beginning to represent numbers using fingers, marks on paper or pictures.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
Where it comes from
- Source
- Development Matters in the EYFS (DfE, 2012)
- Original guidance
- “Give children a reason to count, e.g. by asking them to select enough wrist bands for three friends to play with the puppets.”
- License
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- © Crown Copyright 2012 (Development Matters in the EYFS, DfE)