It is very important for children to learn at least one emergency contact phone number for safety reasons. If there are multiple phone numbers, start with one phone number and then add additional numbers only after they have mastered that first one.
There are many fun ways to teach your child your phone number. In my kindergarten readiness book Kalvin and Kaiser’s Very Busy Day, the two boys learn their mommy’s phone number by first taping paper plates to the wall to build a pretend phone that matches the keypad on her phone. Then, after their Mommy has written her number on a large piece of paper and taped it above the pretend phone, they look at each number and touch the paper plate that matches it, saying that number out loud.
Other fun activities:
Write your number on a large piece of paper. Write the individual numbers on separate note cards. Mix up the notecards and then have your child match them up, putting them into the correct order.
Write your number on a large popsicle stick or a strip of construction paper. Write each number on a clothespin. Mix up the clothespins and have your child match them up by clipping them onto the stick.
Make a bracelet that shows your phone number out of numbered beads and elastic string. Your child can practice saying your number all day long. Even when riding in the car.
Write your phone number on a large sheet of paper. Divide each number by drawing a long line between each one. Have your child look at each digit and then count out cheerios, goldfish or even buttons, placing them under each one.
Sing the numbers to the tune of ‘Are you Sleeping’ Start out by you singing the area code, having your child then sing it back. Then you do the next three numbers, having them repeat that back. Last, you do the same thing with the last 4 numbers. They can also clap along as you sing. For example, if your phone number was (555) 876-5432, then:
You sing: 555 They sing: 555, (Are you sleeping)
You sing: 876 They sing: 876 (Brother John)
You sing: 5432 They sing: 5432 (Morning bells are ringing)
You sing: “That’s my number” They sing: “That’s my number.” (Ding, ding, dong)
A fun game to play is called “Fishing For Numbers”.
- Write your phone number on a large sheet of paper.
- Trace and cut out 10 goldfish. Let your child help you cut the fish out. Make sure the size of the fish is the same as the size of the number on your large piece of paper.
- Draw or cut out a mouth on the fish. Draw an eye. Draw fins, etc.
- Laminate (if you want).
- Write one digit of the phone number on the tail of each fish.
- Attach a paper clip to the fish.
- Lay the fish out on the floor.
- Make a fishing pole by tying a piece of string onto a dowel or stick and then tying a magnet to the end of the string.
- Use the fishing pole to catch the fish in the correct order, placing each caught fish on the corresponding number.
This is also an excellent activity to build small and large motor skills as well as eye-hand coordination.
