Learning to Count by 5's

Learning to rote count by fives is a Kindergarten standard in our state of Arizona.  Actually, skip counting by 2's, 5's, and 10's are all part of Kinder standards.  This post is about how I am teaching my daughter to count by fives.  I have multiple tools in my teaching bag for this one!

• There is a dot to dot book we got from Barnes and Noble for $4.95 that is called Dot to Dot Count to 50 by Balloon Books.  At the top of each page there is a number line that shows counting by fives visually. 
•  There is a pop style song and video by HaveFunTeaching on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_awKlEMyleA that encourages kids to dance and sing the count by fives song.  Studies show that most boys learn better when they are moving so a video such as this that has some dance moves and hand clapping will more likely help boys memorize counting by fives than the rote method of just repeating.
• We also found  a Curious George game on the PBS Kids website called "High Five" http://pbskids.org/curiousgeorge/busyday/fives/ that allows the player to place a painted high five hand of George's on a canvas and counts by fives the number of prints the player makes.  You can also have it repeat the count when you are done.
• Using a white board, chalk board, or paper, trace the whole families hands. Right the numbers counting by fives inside the hands.  How many fingers are in your family? Lay them on the floor and have your child count by fives.
• There is also a free app by Little Monkey Apps called "Teaching Number Lines" that allows you to both practice and test skip counting by 2's, 3's, 4's, and 5's.

 Let me know how you teach your child skip counting in the comment section.