Where this leads
This is the very first step in Number. It leads into counting larger collections, place value, and addition in Year 1.
This is where number begins. In Foundation, children learn to name the numbers from zero to twenty, to match each number name to its written numeral, and to put those numbers in order. It sounds simple to an adult, but it is one of the largest leaps a young mind makes all year, and everything in later mathematics rests on it. If a child leaves Foundation able to say “seven”, point to the numeral 7, and know that 7 comes after 6 and before 8, they have the foundation that addition, place value, fractions and every later topic is built upon.
Three skills, tangled together
There are three separate skills tangled together in this one idea, and it helps to keep them apart in your mind. The first is the number name, the spoken word, such as “five”. The second is the numeral, the written symbol, such as 5. The third is the quantity, the actual amount, such as five apples on a table. A young child can often recite the number words in order, like a song, long before they understand that “five” means a specific amount, or that the squiggle 5 stands for that amount. The whole task of Foundation number is to tie these three together so tightly that they become one idea.
One number, three ways
Every number is three things at once: a word we say, a numeral we write, and an amount that is this many. Tying these three together is the whole job of Foundation number.
Counting is the bridge
When a child counts a row of objects, they touch each object once and say one number name for it, in order. This is harder than it looks. The child must coordinate the pointing and the saying, must not skip an object or count one twice, and must understand that the very last number they say is the answer to “how many”. That last idea has a name, the cardinal principle, and it is a genuine discovery for a child. Many children will count “one, two, three, four, five” correctly and then, asked how many there are, start counting all over again — because they have not yet realised that “five” was already the answer.
Tap to count
Tap each circle one at a time and say the number out loud together: “one, two, three…” The big number shows how many you have counted. When you stop, ask the child: how many are there? The answer is the last number you said.
Numbers live in order
Numbers are not just a set; they live in a fixed sequence, each one exactly one more than the number before it. A number track makes this visible: 4 is always just before 5, which is always just before 6. Once a child feels that the numbers march along in a fixed order, they can start to answer “what comes after 8” without counting from one, and they are ready for the idea that counting on is the same as adding.
The numbers in order
Numbers live in a fixed order, each one just one more than the last. Tap any number, or use the buttons, and see what comes before and after. 5 is always just after 4 and just before 6.
What comes next?
A gentle game for the child. Which number fills the gap? If they are unsure, count along the number track above together. Nothing is saved — just tap and try.
Seeing five and ten
A ten-frame is one of the most useful tools in early number. By grouping counters in fives and tens, it helps a child see a quantity at a glance instead of counting every object, and it quietly prepares them for place value later on.
Fill the ten-frame
A ten-frame helps children see numbers in relation to 5 and 10. The first five counters are gold, the next five blue, so a child starts to see “7 is five and two more” without counting every dot. Tap the boxes to fill them.
A word about zero
Zero is a sophisticated idea and often comes last. It is the number that names “none” — an empty space, no objects at all. Showing a child an empty ten-frame, or an empty hand, and naming it “zero” helps them see that zero is a real number with its own place at the start of the line, not just the absence of counting.
Show me this many
The child reads (or you read) the gold number, then taps that many dots. When the count matches, the dots turn green. This links the numeral back to a real quantity. Nothing is saved or sent.
How to use these with a child
Point and count out loud together, touching each object as you say its number. Ask “how many” after counting and gently show that the last number is the answer. Mix up the order and ask the child to find a particular numeral, or to tell you what comes next. Use real objects too, as the curriculum suggests — counters, blocks, buttons or fingers — so the child connects the screen to the world they can touch. Keep it playful and short. At this age, a few joyful minutes of counting together does more than a long lesson.