Books and Everyday Activities Make Learning Fun and Easy -- Understanding the world around us would be impossible without numbers. Psychologists tell us that we seem to come into the world knowing to pay special attention to them. Even young babies can tell the difference between small amounts and have a basic understanding of more and less. 1,2,3 This sense of number may start early, but learning about numbers can, and should, last a lifetime. Most children don’t count reliably to 10 until around age five. But there are those who can count, or make a very good attempt, much sooner than that. The more time a child spends counting before she enters kindergarten the better off she will be. In fact, a child’s understanding of the principles of counting and simple math concepts by kindergarten is a key predictor of later school success. Principles of counting? Without even realizing it, we are following five basic principles each and every time we count: Count eac