Printable Stick Counting Cards

Use these printable counting cards to help your little ones practice their math skills. Simply gather some sticks during a nature walk, and you’re ready to start!

Counting forms the foundation for many essential math concepts, so building a strong grasp of it early on in life lays the groundwork for future mathematical learning. But it turns out that learning to count is surprisingly difficult to master. The jump from simply reciting numbers (“one, two, three, four…”) to effectively applying the concept and counting objects involves a number of skills that take time to develop. 

To support our little ones in building their counting abilities, we can introduce engaging activities from time to time, such as these printable stick counting cards. By collecting sticks on a nature walk and then matching them to the corresponding numbers on the cards, children can practice number recognition and other key counting skills in a fun and interactive way. This playful approach helps make learning to count both enjoyable and effective.

Just remember, learning at this stage should be playful and pressure-free. If your little one isn’t interested in counting cards right away, don’t force it. Simply reintroduce them later. My two-year-old wasn’t particularly engaged the first time we tried, but now she loves them!

Setting Up The Stick Counting Card Activity

Setting up this counting activity couldn’t be easier. Here’s what you’ll need to do:

1. Print the counting cards. Download and print the free printable counting cards PDF, available at the bottom of this blog post. For durability, use card stock paper or laminate the pages before cutting out the individual number cards.
2. Gather sticks. Take your little one(s) on a nature walk to collect sticks. My daughter loved this part of the activity and had a blast looking for sticks throughout the walk! Make sure the sticks you take home are thin enough to fit on the counting cards. 
3. Prepare the sticks. Trim the sticks to the appropriate lengths using pruning shears. You’ll need at least 10 sticks to be able to use all 10 counting cards. 
4. Start the Activity. Place the number 1 card in front of your child and ask them to put 1 stick on it. Encourage your child to say the number as they place each stick. To reinforce their counting practice, you can have your child trace the number with their finger. Repeat this process with the other number cards.

Age Recommendation and Skills Developed

Age recommendation: These counting cards are suitable for children aged 2 to 4 years. For younger children, begin with the first 3 number cards and gradually introduce additional cards as their counting skills develop.

Skills developed: These counting cards help develop several mathematical skills that that are essential for learning to count, including:

• Number recognition: This is the ability to recognize and identify numbers.
• One-to-one correspondence:  This is the ability to understand that each object matches one number, and that each number represents a specific quantity. 
• Stable order principle. This is the ability to understand that numbers appear in a sequence and that the order of the sequence does not change. For example, my daughter used to say “one, two, three, five,” but after using these counting cards, she now correctly says “one, two, three, four, five.”

If you want to use these counting cards with your own children, you can download them here. Happy learning!