Spoons In The Bowl

What you need

• a few wooden or plastic spoons
• a big bowl

How to do it

1. Sit on the kitchen floor with a big bowl between you and a few spoons in a pile.
2. Drop one spoon in and say 'one'.
3. Hand them the next spoon and say 'two' as it clatters in.
4. Tip them all out and count them back in together.

Why it matters

Saying a number each time a spoon lands puts the counting words right next to something they can see and hear.

What they're learning

Number words

Hearing 'one, two, three' as each spoon drops ties each word to a single thing.

Letting go on purpose

Opening the hand over the bowl is a deliberate release rather than a drop.

Taking turns

You drop one, they drop one: a small back-and-forth game with a clear rhythm.

What to look for

Watch for them pausing with a spoon over the bowl, waiting for you to say the number.

A tip

Metal spoons in a metal bowl are loud and very satisfying; wooden ones in a plastic bowl are the quieter version.

More like this

Scarf Post Box from 12 months · 10-15 min Pine Cone Paint Roll from 14 months · 10-15 min Slinky Ball Drop from 12 months · 10-15 min Scarf Pull Tube from 12 months · 5-10 min