Count-i-pillar: Did you Know Bugs Can Teach Colors and Counting?

Counting is such an important skill for little minds to learn. Stacking is an important skill for little hands to obtain. Colors are also important for young eyes to recognize. We've got a toy here that combines the best of these into one colorful, educational, fun, and sensory experience. 

Enter Melissa & Doug's Counting Caterpillar. 

Cocoa Puff pulled this out of its bin a few days ago and he spent HOURS playing with it. 

It's got only 11 pieces: 10 colored, numbered segments, and the base that they all fit on. 

Each segment piece is a different color and has a different number on it. There's also a coordinating number of dots on each piece. 

Of course, the first thing we have to do is dump out all of the pieces and take inventory. 

Then, we have to pick up all the pieces and move them to our playing area. 

Then, just start putting the pieces on the base! 

At first, I just let him put the pieces on in any order to get him used to doing it. This was a good way to encourage hand-eye coordination. 

He put all the pieces on the base and told me the color and number on each one. I also asked him to tell me something else that was each color, and he really enjoyed this part. 

Once he had all the pieces on, I would ask him for a specific color or number and he would point to it. 

We did this for quite a while until he got tired of it. 

Then, I asked him to help me put all the numbers in order. He had a hard time with this, but I really think his older brother could have done it.

When all the pieces are in numerical order, the colors of the rainbow also line up in order, which is a nice touch. 

Then he had some more fun pulling off each piece and telling me the number and color on it. He also counted the dots on each part. 

Then, when he got tired of doing that, he dumped them all on the floor and started over. 

This toy is such a great way to work on number skills, number recognition, counting, stacking, hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and imaginative play. The recommended age group is 2+, and I would say that is pushing it a little. Cocoa Puff has been fascinated with numbers since well before his 2nd birthday, but only recently has he expressed any interest in it, and he still needs a lot of help putting the numbers in sequential order. He's very good at matching up the numbers and colors and identifying them. Overall, it's a great educational toy that is good for any toddler's arsenal. 

What's your favorite number?