Teaching Phone Numbers
Every child should know their phone number. They must know how to phone 911 in the event of an emergency. They’ll need to know their parents’ phone numbers if they need to contact them. It’s not always simple to figure out how to teach phone digits, but I think this activity is fantastic!
Knowing our phone number and how to utilize it is a life skill we are currently working on with our preschooler. We don’t want to think about it, but knowing that phone number could be vital if our daughter ever gets lost.
Free Phone Printable
I drew up this iPhone graphic today to help my kids memorize and practice dialing my phone number. We only use cell phones these days so I thought the iPhone graphic was appropriate since that’s what I’ve taught them to make out going calls on in case of an emergency. Make sure your kids can recognize the word “EMERGENCY” on your phone since you don’t have to go all the way to the keypad to dial 911.
Teaching Kids to Call 911
I’m confident they’ll be able to recall 911 with ease, but learning a home phone number or cell phone number will require more effort. If you hang the numbers on the wall, have your youngster practice them every day until they memorize them.
Keep in mind, it’s also important that they know their address, because when you call 911 from a cell phone that is the first thing the dispatcher will ask you. I would assume they might be able to figure out where you are via GPS or something, but kids should know their address anyway so why not prep them in case they have to be a hero and make the call!
One half of printable includes the numbers on the keypad, but I left them off on the other side for additional writing practice. It’s really important to keep repeating the number out loud so that they can repeat it to someone if they ever get lost. I made sure my son knew my phone number by heart long before he could recognize and write numbers. This printable reinforced the number for him, gave him an idea of what it would be like to dial it, and gave him some extra number writing/recognition practice! Since my daughter isn’t quite there with her writing skills yet, I simply filled in the numbers for her and had her practice dialing them over, and over, and over.
Here are a few different ways you can use the printable to help your kids memorize your phone number!
- Fill in your phone number for your child and have them practice dialing the numbers on the keypad
- Have your child fill in all the numbers and write their phone (if already memorized)
- Fill in your phone number and cut the worksheet into several pieces creating a puzzle
- Cut out all the numbers and have your child glue down the numbers in your phone number (you will have to print and cut out several since most phone numbers use repeated numbers)
- Have your child dial the numbers that spell out their name!
- Laminate the worksheet for repeated practice with a dry erase marker.
- Try singing your phone number to the tune of Frere Jacques as your child touches each number on the keypad. End with the phrase, “that’s my number, that’s my number”
- Have kids repeat the numbers in this awesome auditory feedback phone!
Also, if you’re moving or have recently changed your phone number, this would be a fun way to present your kids with your new one!
This week of learning was a lot of fun, and I feel a lot better knowing that the kids are safer now that they’ve learnt this crucial information. What is the best way to teach phone numbers and addresses? Do you have any amusing suggestions to share?