ABC Phonics A to Z | Count Grapes and Strawberries with the Alphabet

The shutters go up on a little fruit stand, and the stallholder is already counting. Grapes first, then strawberries, then whatever else is ripe that morning. For each letter from A to Z, a customer asks for a small bunch of one fruit, and the stallholder counts it into a paper bag: one, two, three, sometimes up to five. Kids at home count along out loud, and the bag gets a happy rustle with every fruit that drops in. Keeping the numbers small is the whole idea. Counting past five is hard for a lot of little ones, and a long pile of fruit can turn into a guessing game. When the count only runs from one to five and then starts over, children get plenty of practice with the numbers they’re ready for, and each new letter feels like a fresh chance to get it right. A few fingers held up beside the screen help too, since a hand shows five at a glance. Grapes and strawberries are the stars because they are perfect for counting. Grapes come off the stem as tidy little spheres, and strawberries sit in a row in a tray, so each fruit is easy to point at once. They also turn up again and again as the helpers who fill the bag when another fruit runs out, so children see familiar friends between the new arrivals. abc, a to z, a-z, alphabet, phonics, nursery rhyme, fruits, grapes and strawberries,preschool fruit names, fruit vocabulary,