Family Guide — Session 22: Numbers 6 to 10

A one-page guide for parents, after-school caregivers, or co-teachers. Plain English. No teaching experience required.

What we learned today

Your child can now count from 6 to 10 in Arabic — and combined with last week, they can count all the way from 1 to 10:

They also met the Arabic numerals: ٦ ٧ ٨ ٩ ١٠. Yes — Arabic numerals look different from the "Arabic numbers" we use in English. Fun fact for the dinner table: the digits we call "Arabic" (1, 2, 3...) came to Europe from the Arab world, but Arabic-speaking countries today use these other shapes.

Why this matters

Numbers are the most useful Arabic your child will use after greetings. Age, phone numbers, how many cookies, what floor we live on, how old grandma is — numbers show up in every real conversation. Once your child can count to 10, they can answer "how old are you?" in Arabic, count stairs, count grapes, count anything. That's the whole point: Arabic stops being a school subject and starts being a tool.

What to do this evening (3 minutes total)

You don't need to drill. Just do these three tiny things:

1. Count something together, out loud.

Stairs going up to bed. Grapes in a bowl. Forks on the table. Anything. Have your child count it in Arabic from 1 to 10:

waahid, ithnayn, thalaatha, arba'a, khamsa, sitteh, sab'a, thmaniyeh, tis'a, 'ashra

2. Ask: "How old are you?" — in Arabic.

"كَم عُمرَك؟" (kam ‘umrak? — for a boy / kam ‘umrik? — for a girl)

They answer with the number. If they're 7: sab'a. That's it.

3. Show them the Arabic numeral for their age.

Write it on a sticky note. Stick it on their water bottle. Done.

What to do this week (5 minutes total)

Pick one of these:

• Label the stairs. Write ١ ٢ ٣ ٤ ٥ ٦ ٧ ٨ ٩ ١٠ on sticky notes, one per step. Count out loud every time you go up or down.
• Phone number game. Have your child say their phone number (or your phone number) one digit at a time in Arabic. Slow is fine.
• Snack math. "I'll give you sab'a grapes." They have to tell you how many that is before they get them. Switch roles.
• Hide-and-seek counter. Whoever is "it" counts to 10 in Arabic before searching. Loudly. Dramatically.

If you don't know Arabic yourself

Numbers are the easiest place to start as a parent. You only need 10 words, and they repeat constantly in real life.

• Count along with your child. Just match what they say. You'll have it memorized by Friday.
• Don't worry about ثـ (the "th" in thmaniyeh). It's a soft "th" like in "thin." If you say "tmaniyeh," you'll be understood — that's how a lot of Levantine speakers say it anyway.
• Use them in English sentences. "Can you grab khamsa spoons?" This is how bilingual brains get built — one word at a time, inside normal life.

If you're a heritage Arabic speaker

• Listen for the gendered forms. When counting objects, Arabic numbers actually change form depending on what you're counting. Your child is learning the counting form (used for just saying numbers in a row, or telling age). Don't pile on the grammar yet — that comes much later. Let sitteh be sitteh.
• Use Arabic numerals at home. Write the date on the fridge calendar in ١ ٢ ٣ format sometimes. Heritage kids can usually say numbers but rarely read them.
• Share your dialect's quirks. If your family says sabʿa a little differently — Egyptian, Gulf, Iraqi, Moroccan — tell your child. "In our family we say it this way." That's a gift, not a confusion.

What's coming next session

Session 23: How Old Are You? (كَم عُمرَك؟) — Your child puts numbers to use by asking and answering about age, plus a new letter from the alphabet path.

Materials needed: nothing new. Just bring this folder.

Questions or struggles?

Email: dabagh_safaa@smc.edu Or visit: https://learnwithoutwalls.com

Yalla Arabic · Family Guide · Session 22