I have a friend who is an excellent piano teacher. She taught me some things which I use with adults.

1. Counting and math work for long notes (quarter and longer). Shorter than that, use syllables, because music is based on speech, not math.

2. Get a regular beat going. For quarter notes, say "Coke," getting one syllable per beat. A quarter and two eighths are "Coke pizza" (Make sure the pizza fits in one beat) Four eighths are "Henrietta". Waltz time is "wonderful". Six eights (jig) are "one lolly, two lolly." But six eights in a waltz are "Henrietta Evans." To do a triplet, squeeze "wonderful" into one beat.

3. If anybody has a good way to teach dotted notes, I want to hear about it.

This is an effective and accepted way to teach rhythm. It is based on the work of a man named Carl Orff. My local university offers Orff workshops every summer. So if you try it, and people sneer, just tell them that.