Numbers 7, 8, 9, and 10 — Completing Our Count

"God is not a God of disorder but of peace." — 1 Corinthians 14:33

Review: Counting So Far

Let us count what we already know: one, two, three, four, five, six! Wonderful! Today we will learn FOUR more numbers: 7, 8, 9, and 10. When we are done, we will be able to count all the way to ten!

The Number 7

Hold up seven fingers — all five on one hand, plus two more on the other. Count them: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven!

The number 7 is very special in the Bible. God made the world in six days and then rested on the seventh day (Genesis 2:2). God did not rest because He was tired — God never gets tired! He rested to show us a pattern: work, then rest. That is why we have seven days in a week.

Count the days of the week on your fingers: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. That is 7 days!

Put 7 blocks on the table. Touch each one as you count to seven. Now arrange them in a row. That is a long row!

The numeral 7 looks like a line going across the top and then a line going down at an angle. Some people draw a little line through the middle too.

The Number 8

Hold up eight fingers — all five on one hand, plus three more. Count: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight!

Noah's ark carried 8 people safely through the great flood (1 Peter 3:20). Noah, his wife, their three sons, and their three sons' wives. God saved eight people!

An octopus has 8 arms. A spider has 8 legs. God created creatures with exactly the right number of parts. Nothing is by accident!

Put 8 blocks on the table. Count them carefully. Now make two rows of four: four blocks on top, four blocks on the bottom. See how even that is? 4 and 4 makes 8!

The numeral 8 looks like a snowman — two circles stacked on top of each other.

The Number 9

Hold up nine fingers — all five on one hand, plus four more. Count: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine!

In the Bible, Jesus healed 10 sick men, but only 1 came back to say thank you (Luke 17:12-19). The other 9 forgot. We should always remember to thank God! That is a story we will think about again when we learn about 10.

Put 9 blocks on the table. Count them one by one. Now try making three rows of three: three blocks in each row. That makes a nice square shape!

The numeral 9 looks like a circle on top with a tail going down. It is like the number 6 flipped upside down!

The Number 10

Hold up ten fingers — ALL of them! Both hands wide open. Count: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, TEN!

The number 10 is a very important number. God gave Moses the Ten Commandments — ten special rules for how to live (Exodus 20). Ten is also special because it is the first number that uses TWO digits: a 1 and a 0 side by side.

We have 10 fingers and 10 toes. God designed our bodies with groups of ten. That is why our number system is built on tens!

Put 10 blocks on the table. Count every single one. Now make two rows of five. See how it looks like both of your hands side by side?

To write 10, we write two numerals next to each other: 1 and then 0. The 1 means "one group of ten" and the 0 means "no extras."

Let Us Count to 10!

Count with me from the very beginning:

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, TEN!

``` 0---1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9---10 | | Start Ten! ```

You did it! You can count to 10! God gave you a wonderful brain that can learn numbers.

Counting with Objects

Get 10 small objects. Now practice:

1. Count out 7 objects. How many are left over?
2. Count out 8 objects.
3. Count out 9 objects.
4. Count ALL 10 objects.

Try counting things around you:

• How many windows in your room?
• How many shoes by the door?
• How many books on a shelf? (Count up to 10)

The Creation Week in Numbers

Let us count through God's creation one more time:

• Day 1: Light — Day 2: Sky — Day 3: Land and plants
• Day 4: Sun, moon, stars — Day 5: Fish and birds
• Day 6: Animals and people — Day 7: God rested

That is 7 days! And all of creation shows God's wonderful order.

A Prayer

Dear God, thank You for helping me count all the way to 10! Thank You for 7 days in a week, for saving 8 people on the ark, for the Ten Commandments, and for all the order in Your creation. Help me remember these numbers. Amen.