You Can Count Anything

You can count beans. You can count goats.

You can count claps and jumps too.

Say one number for each one.

Clap 6 times. Count out loud as you clap.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. You made 6 claps.

Now jump 8 times. Count each jump.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. You made 8 jumps.

Your mouth must go slowly. One number for each jump.

Keza puts 4 avocados on a mat.

Then she puts 5 bananas next to them.

They are not the same fruit. You can still count them all.

Touch each one: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.

There are 9 fruits on the mat.

Now start at the other end of the mat.

Touch each one again: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.

You get 9 again.

Nothing was added. Nothing was taken away.

You can start anywhere. The answer stays the same.

Now say every number up to 9, with no things at all.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.

Say it again, a little faster. Then say it to your mama.

These words always come in the same order.

That is why counting works on anything.