What your young child has learned to do is to count rotely. This is good because she has learned the names of the numbers, and they can be used later on to describe quantities, such as four cats and seven cookies.

The next step is for your child to learn how to count sets (collections of things that belong together). This is not an easy task and requires considerable practice. Ultimately, you want your child to be able to look at a group of three pencils, three books or three apples and know that they can all be described by the number 3. Or if you show her a group of nine balls, you want her to be able to make three groups of three.

The rewarding part of teaching your child how to count sets is that it can be done through activities that are fun to do -- thus showing your child that working with numbers is an enjoyable thing to do. Here are some suggestions:

• -Empty the coins out of your wallet and ask your child to divide them into groups of the same type of coins. Then have her count the number of coins in each group. At this time, you might also want to teach her the names of the coins. Make this a daily activity.
• -Have a scavenger hunt in your home. Have your child find such things as two shoes, three socks and four books. Have your child look for only one set of objects at a time. A different version of this game is to have your child find out how many balls she has or how many spoons are in a drawer.
• -There are so many board games that you play with your children by tossing dice or using spinners to make moves. Instead of using these devices, make cards with dots on them that can be drawn to make moves.
• -Look at the pictures together when you read to your child and ask questions about them: How many people are in the car? How many birds are in the nest?