A few weeks back I started Xavier making steps using C-rods (OK on second thoughts it was probably a couple of months ago).  He caught on very quickly and was happy to sort anything from shortest to tallest including the cut straws in one of our activity bags.

This week we started to make some connections.  I brought out some number cards which we practiced putting in order 0 to 10.  Then we built Duplo towers and matched them to the numbers.  He immediately made the connection to the steps he has been building for the past few weeks.

Today we built steps using both the c-rods and the AL Abacus which he has seen Ethany using.  This was painless.  I know he knows that the c-rods represent different quantities and that is a huge first step.  Yay Xavier!