Counting in preschool is three skills that grow together: saying the numbers in order, matching each number to a group of things, and knowing that the last number said is how many there are. Keeping every page in this set within 5 means the numbers never get in the way of those three ideas.
The first twelve sheets start from a group and ask for its number. They begin with neat rows and get harder as the groups spread out, from matching and circling to five frames, a picture graph, a busy farm scene and a cut and paste page. Sheets 13 to 15 turn it around, giving a number and asking the child to find, color or draw a group that size. The last three use counting to do something new: compare two groups, add one more, and follow numbers in order through a maze.
None of the sheets ask a child to write a number from memory. Answers are matched, circled, colored, dabbed, glued or traced, so a three year old who can count to five but cannot yet form a 5 can still do every page.
Eleven of the eighteen print in plain black and white line art, which keeps a class set light on ink and leaves the pictures ready to color.
Fruit Count and Trace Counting Worksheet for Preschool
One pineapple, two pears, three strawberries, four oranges and five plums, each next to its number in bold with two dotted copies to trace.
The amounts climb by one each row, so a child sees counting on as a pattern before anything else is asked of them.
Bakery Treats Counting Worksheet for Preschool
Cupcakes, cookies, a donut, cake slices and pretzels on the left, the numbers 1 to 5 in mixed order on the right, and a line to draw between them.
Pet Pals Count and Match Counting Worksheet for Pre-K
The same count and match routine with kittens, goldfish, bunnies, a turtle and puppies.
Safari Animals How Many Counting Worksheet for Pre-K
Six boxes of safari animals, each asking how many? with three numbers to circle from.
The zebras and hippos sit in clusters instead of tidy rows, so a child has to count a group that is not laid out for them.
Busy Bug Counting Worksheet for Preschool
Bees, butterflies, a snail, caterpillars, dragonflies and ants to count, with the answer colored in a numbered circle.
Beep Beep Vehicles Counting Worksheet for Preschool
A school bus, cars, hot air balloons, sailboats, airplanes and dump trucks, with the right number to color under each.
Party Dot Marker Counting Worksheet for Preschool
Balloons, party hats, presents and lollipops to dab one at a time with a dot marker, then a dab on the number that matches.
Space Five Frame Counting Worksheet for Preschool
Rockets, stars, a moon, aliens and planets to count, coloring one box of a five frame for each.
Four is one box short of full and five fills the frame, so amounts start to look like shapes.
My Ocean Graph Counting Worksheet for Preschool
Fish, crabs and starfish swim together in one ocean scene, and each kind gets its own column of boxes to color.
Down on the Farm Counting Worksheet for Preschool
A busy farm scene with a tractor, cows, pigs, chickens and sheep to find and count, then circle the number for each.
Robot Shape Counting Worksheet for Preschool
A robot built from circles, squares and triangles, with a box under it for counting each shape.
Fall Harvest Cut and Paste Counting Worksheet for Pre-K
Apples, maple leaves, an acorn, pine cones and corn to count, then the numbers 1 to 5 to cut out and glue in the right boxes.
Dino Number Hunt Counting Worksheet for Preschool
A number at the start of each row and three groups of dino eggs, footprints, dinosaurs or leaves, with only one that matches.
This is where the set turns around: the number comes first and the child goes looking for the group.
Winter Counting Worksheet for Preschool: Color That Many
Five mittens, snowmen, snowflakes, hats and mugs of cocoa in each row, and a number that says how many to color.
Ladybug Spots Counting Worksheet for Preschool
Six spotless ladybugs, each with a number on a leaf, and that many spots to draw on its back.
Which Has More? Jungle Counting Worksheet for Preschool
Two groups of bananas, monkeys, parrots and frogs in each row, and a circle around the group that has more.
One More Scoop Counting Worksheet for Preschool
Four ice cream cones with a dotted scoop on top. Count the scoops, trace one more, and circle how many there are now.
Puppy Counting Path Maze Worksheet for Preschool
A grid of paw print squares to color in order from 1 to 5, leading the puppy to its bone.
One more thing.
If your kids finish a unit and you're not sure what to do next, our honest advice: don't move on yet. Spend a week mixing these in as warm-ups. Fluency isn't a unit, it's a habit, and the sheet that builds it is usually the one they ask to do again.
