L has been enjoying telling us that she’s 1 when we ask how old she is for the past couple of months, so I decided it was time to bring in some numbers!  The first step in teaching numbers is simple exposure.  We have been counting things for a long time — each time we go up or down the steps, random objects that we find, etc.  The next step is helping L associate the name of each number with its symbol.  I had some number magnets from the dollar bins at Target, so I put them in a bowl on a cookie sheet and put the work on the shelf.  L loves bringing this work to the table and sticking the magnets on.  She often puts the numbers on backwards or upside down, but that’s ok — she’s only one and half.  We don’t correct her.  We just let her work with the numbers in her own way and begin to get familiar with them.