The nice part about numbers, is you can find them everywhere. We count just about everything! From how many pieces we cut toast into, to the numbers on the aisles at target. We count and count and count and with so much counting, Gabe has learned to count to ten! This is extremely exciting for Kristie and me and we believe Gabe picked up counting quickly because of the consistent interaction he has with numbers. It is our 
responsibility as parents to foster a positive learning environment. If you don’t
have letters, numbers, and shapes hanging from your walls, you should. Stop reading this post and build a learning environment for your children! The time for action is now and it starts with you. A place to begin is with posters of letters, shapes, colors and numbers. Our home is dedicated to our children and clearly decorated to accommodate their learning needs. Raising a family should be approached with an “all in” “full throttle” mentality, get excited for raising kids! Our home learning environment has enabled Gabe to know his letters and many shapes as well! Our home is very “lived in” with toys of all types usually scattered about.
It is important to use many different methods to foster learning for our children. We usually include the mentioned posters on the wall, as well as counting and sorting all types of toys, and a few videos on numbers and the alphabet. Lottie and Gabe, being the adorable duo, love to boldly state numbers as they run around the house giggling. Lottie also enjoys demonstrating to Gabe that she can count as well. Another favorite for Gabe and Lottie are flash cards, we all love to snuggle on the couch and go through flash cards, sometimes
Gabe or Lottie will walk over and point to the numbers on the wall. If they don’t get the number correctly, we say try again and use the pictures on the shape flash cards to help. If you take on thing away from reading this, make learning fun and be consistent with it. If you have a child with Down syndrome it might take them a little longer to learn their numbers and alphabet. Do not be discouraged by this, but understand that you have been gifted this additional opportunity to spend time with and teach your child. The most rewarding feeling in the world is after practicing a task for weeks, and then all of the sudden it “clicks” with Gabe and he has accomplished the task! I am so proud of Gabe and all of my family, and I am grateful and excited for all of the new and exciting things Kristie
and I get to teach them.
We started selling t-shirts for Down syndrome awareness and advocacy. You can check them out here!