ABSTRACT
It is very difficult trying to remember how we learnt to count. It is one of those things many of us learnt before we had clear memories. However, practising teachers have probably either worked with or been with young children who are beginning to make sense of counting. This chapter unpicks the big ideas in learning to count and in understanding number. It engages practising teachers in activities which will allow them to reflect on how they learn counting and understanding number and will draw on research to illustrate how best to support children in their learning. This opening activity helps practising teachers reflect on the skills they bring to counting without really thinking about it. The skill of being able to see how many objects there are, without physically counting each one, is called subitising.
