You've probably counted to 100 before. But what comes next? Numbers keep going, and understanding bigger numbers helps us make sense of the world. Let's explore numbers all the way up to 1,000.

After 99 comes 100 (one hundred). After 199 comes 200 (two hundred). This pattern continues. The number 567 is read as "five hundred sixty-seven." We say the number in the hundreds place, followed by the word "hundred," and then we say the last two digits just like we normally would.

So, 999 is "nine hundred ninety-nine." What comes after that? One thousand! It's written as 1,000.

Writing these numbers is just a matter of putting the digits in the right order. If you hear "three hundred twenty-four," you know it starts with a 3, then a 2, then a 4. You write 324.

Why is the order of digits so important? It's because of something called place value. Every digit in a number has a job based on where it's sitting. In a three-digit number, we have three places: the ones, the tens, and the hundreds.

Think of the number 235. The 5 is in the ones place, so it just means 5. The 3 is in the tens place, so it means 3 tens, or 30. The 2 is in the hundreds place, which means it represents 2 hundreds, or 200.

So, 235 is really just a shorthand for $200 + 30 + 5$. Each place is ten times bigger than the place to its right.

This system is powerful. With just ten digits (0 through 9), we can represent any number imaginable, just by putting them in the right places.

Numbers can be sorted into two useful teams: even and odd. An even number is any number that can be split into two equal whole groups. An odd number always has one left over.

Think about the number 6. You can split it into two groups of 3. So, 6 is even. Now think about 7. You can make two groups of 3, but you'll have 1 left over. So, 7 is odd.

Luckily, there's a shortcut. You only need to look at the digit in the ones place.

It doesn't matter how big the number is. The number 842 is even because its last digit is 2. The number 913 is odd because its last digit is 3.

Once you understand place value, comparing numbers becomes much easier. To find out which of two numbers is bigger, you don't just look at the first digit. You have to check the most powerful place value first.

Let's compare 452 and 398.

1. Start with the hundreds place. 452 has a 4 in the hundreds place (400), and 398 has a 3 (300). Since 4 is bigger than 3, we know that 452 is greater than 398. The other digits don't matter.

What if the hundreds digits are the same? Let's compare 621 and 645.

1. Check the hundreds place. They both have a 6. It's a tie.
2. Move to the tens place. 621 has a 2 in the tens place (20), and 645 has a 4 (40). Since 4 is bigger than 2, we know that 645 is greater than 621.

If the hundreds and tens digits are the same, you just compare the ones digits. This method always works, no matter the numbers.

With these skills, you can count, understand, and compare all the numbers you see around you, from prices in a store to pages in a book.