This first check is about your child's understanding of numbers, one of the most important concepts in Maths.

At a pre-primary level it's about being able to say the numbers to 10 or 12, knowing the order of the numbers forwards and backwards starting from any point between 0 and 10, knowing how to make collections of 3 to 10 objects, and being able to look quickly at a collection of 2 to 7 objects and say how many there are without counting them.

During the primary years understanding of this concept builds up to a much higher level. By the end of primary school children can say, read, write and work with large and small numbers to two decimal places and are beginning to understand the multiplicative relationship between the places.

In a nutshell...the concept starts with understanding very small whole numbers and builds to understanding very large or very small decimal or fractional numbers... and beyond. (We can continue developing our understanding about numbers ad infinitum.)

Firstly, check where your child starts having difficulty counting forwards.

How to do this:

Ask your child how far he thinks he can count up to. He will probably say 'To a million'. Don't believe it!

If you think he has made a sensible estimate, take turns to count aloud, number by number, up to and past that point. If his estimate is higher than 100 it's better NOT to start at 0. It can take a long time to get there and you'll get a better idea of his number skills if you start higher. Try starting 5-10 numbers below his estimate, and take turns to say the numbers up to and a little beyond it.

If your child is under 8 or his estimate is below 100, it's fine to start at 0. Take turns to say the numbers to see where it starts getting tricky for him.

Your aim is to find out where he starts having trouble with the 0-9 counting pattern. It may be in the decades, or it may be in the hundreds or thousands. For example, many children will say 'thirty-nine, fifty' (problem with the 0-9 pattern in the decades), or 'one hundred and nine, two hundred' (problem with the 0-9 pattern in the hundreds).

When you've found where it becomes difficult, YOU model the correct counting pattern by starting a few numbers before it and saying each number until you reach it...and then two or three numbers beyond it.

Then ask your child if he's ready to take turns to do this. If not...model it again...then get your child to say the numbers with you...and then move on to take turns to say the numbers.

That's it! After you've gone the distance a couple of times together, stop and ask your child to practise counting these numbers by himself later. Be specific, eg 'Practise counting from 37 to 52'. Say that you'll take turns again tomorrow to see if he can do it with you.

You may well have introduced two brand new ideas to your child, ie counting orally together and setting counting goals. That's enough for the time being.

It's fun to involve other 'counters' in the family next time. If your child achieves the first goal, set a new one with slightly higher numbers. If your child still has difficulty saying the numbers he's practised, either continue working on the first goal or work on lower numbers to build up his confidence.

If he can count forwards reasonably well, check his counting backwards...again by ones. Choose a low starting number, eg 20, and take turns to go backwards to 0. Children usually find it much harder to go backwards so expect to work with lower numbers at first.

If your child finds it very difficult to go from, say, 19 back to 15....work just on that area.

Knowing the counting pattern is crucial to understanding Maths. Children need to be able to count forwards and backwards in order (ie count by one) from any starting number within their scope.

You may well discover that this is something your child needs to practise. We often assume that children who understand the pattern in the decades will automatically transfer this knowledge to the hundreds, thousands and tens of thousands. This is not necessarily so. There are many documented cases of 11 and 12 year olds who counted, for example, 'one thousand and nine, two thousand'.

Next time...how to diagnose any problems with skip counting and work to improve this skill.

If you'd like to know how to teach multiplication tables properly check out the site below.