3.3y–5y10 minMusicFamily timeActive play
Rhythm Counts: Ones, Twos, Fives, Tens
A short music-and-movement number routine using a rhyme/story frame to practise counting on and back in ones, and skip counting in twos, fives, and tens with concrete supports.
What you'll need
Essentials
- your hands (for clapping/high-fives) and fingers (for showing groups of 5 or 10)
- 10 small objects (e.g., blocks, coins, raisins, buttons) OR 5 pairs of socks
- a clear space to sit or stand
Nice to have
- paper and marker to write ‘2, 4, 6…’ or ‘5, 10…’ as a quick visual
- a small toy (rocket/bus) to act out the story
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
What it practices
- Selects the correct numeral to represent 1 to 5, then 1 to 10 objects.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
- Counts an irregular arrangement of up to ten objects.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
- Estimates how many objects they can see and checks by counting them.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
- Uses the language of ‘more’ and ‘fewer’ to compare two sets of objects.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
- Finds the total number of items in two groups by counting all of them.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
Where it comes from
- Source
- Development Matters in the EYFS (DfE, 2012)
- Original guidance
- “Use rhymes, songs and stories involving counting on and counting back in ones, twos, fives and tens.”
- License
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- © Crown Copyright 2012 (Development Matters in the EYFS, DfE)