With colder months upon us, it’s the perfect time to cozy up indoors and focus on hygiene and keeping those germs at bay! Not only will you be teaching essential health habits, but your little ones can also learn valuable skills like counting, fine motor control, and understanding how germs spread.
This free printable activity introduces concepts of germ control, hygiene routines, and counting skills in a fun, hands-on way that kids will love.
Related Post: Germs and Hygiene Activities for Preschoolers
Teaching Counting to Toddlers and Preschoolers
Counting and understanding numbers often starts at 18 months when kids hear numbers in everyday life. By age two, toddlers can begin associating numbers with objects, helping them grasp the concept of quantity—a vital foundation for learning.
You can support this by counting objects in everyday situations, like how many hand wipes you use, how many soap pumps they press, or how many paper towels are in the stack. These simple moments help reinforce counting skills in a practical, relatable way.
Read this post for more ideas on 16 Simple Activities to Teach Counting and Math to a Toddler or Preschooler.
What You’ll Need:
- Free printable counting clip cards (download below)
- Clothespins
- Cardstock or laminator (optional)
What to Do:
- Download and print the free printable sheets. For best quality, print on card stock (65lb is sufficient) or laminate using sheets and a laminator. This will help the cards to be more sturdy when your child is holding them.
- Cut the cards out on the line. You should end up with 4- 4.25″ x 5.5″ cards from each sheet.
3. Talk about each hygiene item on the card so they learn new vocabulary.
4. Have your child or student count the items in each section. Have them locate and identify the number on the board.
5. Then, they can squeeze the clothespin and attach it to the number corresponding to the amount in that section. try to have them use only one hand for squeezing to strengthen those fingers. If needed, they can assist with their other hand. Also, have them try to hold the card with one hand while using the clothespins with the other to develop bilateral coordination. If this is difficult, assist them by holding the card yourself.
If you don’t have clothespins, you can have your child draw a circle around the number or place a dot using dot markers or dot stickers.
Skills Addressed:
This activity will work on a few different skills that toddlers and preschoolers will soon be proficient in. Exposure is key with learning new concepts and strengthening skills and it’s never too early to start teaching your children math, numbers, and learning how to count.
The following skills will be strengthened with this activity:
- One to one correspondence – counting items one at a time using their fingers
- Number recognition – seeing and identifying numbers
- Fine motor skills – hand and finger strengthening by squeezing the clothespin
- Visual motor skills – hand eye coordination as they fit the clothespin on the page where the number is
- Bilateral coordination – holding the counting hard with one hand while the other hand places the clothespin on the card
I hope you and your little ones enjoy this germ-busting counting activity! It’s a great way to introduce hygiene concepts while building foundational math and motor skills.
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Marissa is a pediatric Occupational Therapist and mom of three children. She started this website to help moms, teachers, homeschool parents, and therapists find resources and ideas to teach their young children and students through play-based learning.