Discovering Numbers: One Toddler's Real World Application

I had a revelation today that I just had to share.  After spending a decade in the classroom trying to find ways to make the content we were studying relevant to my students, I have experienced one of the most basic, true examples of successful Real World Learning with my Little Man.  We have been working on the recognition and identification of numbers in many ways for about a year.  His daddy and I are always talking about numbers, showing him numbers, counting objects with him, and singing songs and reading books with numbers in them.  For a while he has been successfully counting to 12, however, even with all of these learnable moments everyday, he still struggled with identifying the individual numerals correctly.

I'm proud to say, not anymore!  He is fast on his way to securing his recognition of the numerals thanks to Thomas the Train and his Friends.  We started a couple days ago, talking about the numbers shown on his engines in his Take and Play set.  While playing with his trains today, I decided to ask him what number was on the side of each.  With no hesitation, he answered: "He's number 3! He's number 1!" And the like.  I have to admit, he shocked me once again.  We had been working with numbers for quite a while, but as soon as they became relevant to him, they became important.  And it seems he now WANTS to know them. 

I owe Thomas a big thanks for his role in supporting LM's learning.  It would seem he and his friends ARE really useful engines (for something other than emptying my wallet!)  And, I will continue intentionally searching for ways to turn his play into learnable moments, as it proves to be very beneficial!