Note to self: If a child is having difficulty counting to and recognizing the numbers through 100, teaching said child to count to 100 by tens will not help. However, giving the child a 500 page dot-to-dot coloring book will teach the child to count to 100 with no effort on yours or the child’s part. The only things necessary are the book, a pencil, and a child who speaks out loud as he works. The latter is important because it will help the parent to hear when the child says three three instead of thirty-three. Once the parent hears this, she can gently correct the child saying, “Oh, you already found 33! Now look for 34.”

My son thinks that he is doing something enjoyable and does not even realize that he is learning. In fact he is enjoying the book so much that he fell asleep working in it last night.