What is in each PDF
Every worksheet is a two-page PDF that prints in black and white on US Letter paper. Page 1 has 8 to 12 problems on one skill, easier ones first, with room for a name and date. Page 2 is the answer key. Free to print, no sign-up.
What kindergarten math covers
Kindergarten math starts with counting: saying the numbers in order, touching one object for each number, and knowing that the last number said tells how many there are. From there children compare groups, spot which has more or fewer, and learn to count forward from a number other than 1.
Adding and taking away begin with small amounts you can see. Sums to 5 come first, then sums to 10, along with the pairs that make exactly 10. Those pairs matter more than they look, because children lean on them for mental math for years. The year ends with teen numbers, seen as ten and some more, which is the first step toward place value. Naming flat shapes such as circles, squares, triangles, rectangles and hexagons rounds it out.
Using these worksheets at home
- Read the question aloud. Kindergartners should not have to decode the words to show what they know about numbers.
- Keep small objects on the table. Buttons, coins or dried beans let your child build a problem before circling the answer.
- Stop while it is going well. Three or four problems with a happy child beat a finished page with a tired one, and the rest of the sheet will keep until tomorrow.
- Use the answer key as a conversation. When an answer is wrong, count the dots together instead of giving the right number.
Where children get stuck
- Counting the same dot twice. Teach your child to touch each dot, or cross it off with a pencil, as they say its number.
- Reciting past the real number. A child who says numbers quickly may not match one number to one object. Slow down and move objects into a new pile as you count.
- Taking away. Subtraction is harder to picture than adding, so have your child start with the whole group and physically remove some before counting what is left.
- The teens. Eleven and twelve do not sound like ten and one or ten and two, so build them with ten objects in a row and a few extra.