Fun With Counting

I'm always looking for ways to teach my daughters new things, or emphasize what they already know, without making it seem like they're learning. Hubby had an idea after lunch the other day that almost backfired.
The girls brought home Valentine's Day heart candies from school (you know, the candy with messages). Our daughters always want a treat with lunch, so I usually oblige them with a small piece of candy, a cookie, or whatever fun treat I can find. It's only once a day and it's the only "bad food" they typically have all day. The one stipulation: they have to eat all their lunch first. Yes, there have been days when they don't finish their lunch and simply say "I'm not hungry so I won't be eating a cookie today."
Anyway, Hubby decided they could have as many pieces of candy as they could count. I decided to sit back and see what happened. Roo, Tortilla and Cakes each became distracted around 5. They wanted more and could have counted more, but were more interested in eating the candy. Then came Sue Sue. I knew we could be in some serious trouble. When she hit 10, I distracted her. I'm convinced that, if given the chance, she would have hit at least 20... and while I'm not a sugar-phobe, that seemed like way too much sugar to me.
Still, they all had fun with this exercise, so when I'm at the grocery store today I'll be picking up some treats other than candy for them to count and eat (blueberries, grapes, etc).
Reminder: There's still time to enter the $50 Safeway gift card giveaway.