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Count the Steps

Walk from one spot to another and count each step aloud together. Try a long route and a short one. Guess how many steps first, then count to check.

Cartoon illustration of a parent and child at home: walk from one spot to another and count each step aloud together.
  • Age2 to 5 years
  • TimeUnder 5 minutes
  • EnergyModerate
  • CostFree
  • WhereIndoors or out
  • PrepNone

Walk from one spot to another and count every step aloud together. Guess how many steps a route will take before counting, then check. Practices counting with one-to-one correspondence through movement.

How to do it

  1. Pick two spots: one close together and one further apart. Start with the short one.
  2. Before walking, guess together: "How many steps do you think it will take?" Accept any guess; don't correct.
  3. Walk slowly and count each step aloud together, pointing down with each foot. Stop when you arrive and say the final number.
  4. Compare to the guess: "We said [guess] and it was [actual]: close or far off?"
  5. Try the longer route. Guess again, count again, compare.

Signs it is working

Your child counts one number for each step rather than counting ahead of their feet. They remember to compare the final count to the guess. They suggest a new route to test on their own: "Let's count to the door."

If it is not quite clicking

Child counts too fast and loses track: Slow the walk to one deliberate step at a time: march it together. They lose the count in the middle of a long route: Just start again from where you lost it rather than backtracking: "we lost count at 10, let's keep going from 10." Counting to 10 is hard: Limit routes to 5 steps for now and focus on getting one number per step right. They want to run rather than count carefully: Let them run a route first, then walk it slowly for the count.

Make it yours

Younger, 2-3 years: Skip the guessing step; just count steps together with exaggerated one-two-three as you march. Older, 5-6 years: Introduce non-standard measurement ("how many giant steps? how many baby steps?") and compare counts; try counting steps in a different language. Outdoors: Count steps along a path, between trees, or from a door to the letterbox or gate: scale up to larger distances. Car version: Count footsteps from the car to the front door; compare on different days.

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