Now, do not count. Just match the outstretched left fingers with the right ones. One right finger will be left unmatched. Thus there were more fingers on the right than on the left.
Repeat this exercise with different combinations of the outstretched fingers. Even when you ask about three and three fingers, you may still use different combinations of the three fingers.
Now show your child:
versus
* * *
* * *
* * *
* * * *
* * * *
and ask, which is greater?
You may rearrange the patterns as follows
versus
* * *
* * *
* * *
* * * *
* * * *
The answer is clear.
Conclusion: you don't need to count to compare.
Do the same for other squares and rectangles, e.g. for 5x5 versus 4x6, or for 4x5 versus 3x6, etc. Even small children can do these comparisons, since they do not need to count. What's more important, this way is not boring. It gives an insight into mathematics (set theory, geometry, algebra).
