Let’s count
Tap each thing and the voice counts along.
Games for 4 year olds
Four year olds already count to ten and hear how words begin. These games practise that in short, happy rounds with a voice and praise.
What four year olds learn through play
- Counting to ten and saying how many there are.
- Hearing the first sound in a word: mouse starts with m.
- Recognising words that rhyme, such as hat and cat.
- Clapping a word into syllables.
Games for four year olds
How many?
Count by eye, then tap the number. Includes a quick dice look.
Feed the bunny
Give the bunny exactly as many carrots as it asks for.
Number shapes
Trace each number with a finger.
More or fewer?
Which side has more?
Number train
Put the carriages in order from 1 to 10.
Addition within 10
Put fruit and cats together and say how many in all. With a number line.
Finger counting
How many fingers can you see?
Copy the beat
Listen to the drum, then play it back.
First sound
Hear a sound and find the picture that starts with it.
Rhyming words
Hat and cat sound alike. What else?
Clap the syllables
Ba, na, na: one drum beat for every part.
Blend the sounds
Sss, uh, nnn: what is the word?
Sound memory game
Turn the cards and find two sounds that match.
Counting rhymes for four year olds
Five balloons
Counting back from five · Ages 3 to 6
Five balloons go up so high,one flies off and waves goodbye!Four balloons go up so high,one flies off and waves goodbye!Three balloons go up so high,one flies off and waves goodbye!Two balloons go up so high,one flies off and waves goodbye!One balloon goes up so high,off it flies and waves goodbye!No balloons are left to see,wave to them with me, with me!
In the meadow
Counting to ten · Ages 2 to 5
One, two, a cow says moo,three, four, green grass grows more.Five, six, a bee so small,seven, eight, lands on a flower tall.Nine, ten, that’s us, my friend,we counted right up to the end!
Frogs jump to twenty
From eleven to twenty · Ages 5 to 6
We can all count up to ten,now let’s jump and count again:eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen,fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen,nineteen, twenty, here we go,splash into the pond below!
Games away from the screen
First sounds at home
Look for things that start with the same sound: sock, soap, sofa.
Rhymes in the car
Say a word and let your child find one that rhymes: hat, cat.
How many steps?
Guess how many steps it is to the door, then count them together.
Clap the name
Clap the syllables of family names: Ma, ri, a.
How much screen time?
The World Health Organization recommends no more than one hour of screen time a day for children aged 2 to 4. One or two games in a row are enough, and the play goes on away from the screen.