Counting Worksheets for Preschool & Kindergarten

Why count objects before writing numbers?

Saying the number words in order (“one, two, three…”) and counting real things are two different skills. A child can recite to ten and still point at five pictures and say “eight”. Counting a group asks a child to use several ideas at the same time:

• One number for each picture. Every picture gets one touch and one number word, no more and no less.
• The number words always come in the same order. One, two, three, four.
• The last number tells how many. When a child counts “…four, five”, the answer to “how many?” is five, not “five was the last one”.
• The total does not change. Counting from the other end gives the same answer.

Counting worksheets give a child many small chances to practice these ideas, and they come before writing numbers: a child who can write a 7 but cannot count seven pictures needs more counting, not more tracing.

Four kinds of worksheet

• Count and write shows a box of pictures and an empty square. Your child counts and writes the number. Use it once your child can form the digits (our number tracing pages help with that).
• Count and circle shows a box of pictures and three numbers. Your child circles the right one. No writing is needed, so it suits younger children.
• Which group has more? shows two groups of the same picture side by side and asks which has more or which has fewer. Children can compare by lining pictures up in their heads or by counting both groups.
• Mixed puts all three on one sheet.

Choosing the numbers and the layout

1 to 5 is a gentle start for children of about three and four. 1 to 10 is the usual preschool and early kindergarten range. 5 to 20 leaves out the smallest numbers; the pictures are set out in rows of ten once there are more than ten, so a child can see the tens and the ones.

Under Arrangement, “In rows” lines the pictures up in neat rows of five. Rows are easier because a child can touch each picture and move along without losing their place, and a row of five is easy to see at a glance. “Scattered” spreads the pictures around the box. That is harder, because the child has to choose their own route and remember what is already counted. Start with rows and move to scattered when rows feel easy.

How to use the generator

1. Choose the worksheet type and the largest number.
2. Tap the kinds of pictures you want. Animals, fruits, vehicles, toys and objects can be mixed.
3. Choose how many questions you want. A page holds four to six, depending on the layout.
4. Press Generate new worksheet for a fresh set, then print it or save a PDF. Turn on “Outline pictures to color” if you want children to color each picture as they count.

On the count-and-write and count-and-circle questions, each number is used once before any number repeats, as far as the range allows, so the questions do not all ask the same thing. The answer key shows the right number in green.

Helping your child count accurately

• Touch and move. Let your child touch each picture as they say its number. Putting a small dot on each counted picture, or coloring it, stops double counting.
• Ask “how many?” after counting. If your child starts again from one, point out that the last number they said is the answer.
• Count real things as well. The CDC suggests counting everyday things such as body parts and stairs (CDC milestones for age 3). Spoons, grapes and steps all work.
• Keep it short. Three or four questions a day beat a full page when a child is tired.

What to expect at different ages

Children develop at their own pace, so treat ages as rough guides. For a sense of the range, the CDC’s milestone checklist for age five includes counting to 10 and naming some numbers between 1 and 5 when an adult points to them (CDC milestones for age 5). If you have worries about your child’s development, talk to your child’s doctor or teacher. These worksheets are for practice, not for testing.