My middles son is in first grade, and they are starting to learn to skip count. Being a visual and tactile learner, my son needs a different way to practice both counting by ones and skip counting. I tried practicing counting by twos verbally, but he really struggled to understand what we were doing. My husband passed by while we were practicing, and immediately realized what our son needed. Later, my son and husband practiced counting to 100 and skip counting by twos using their new number board.
Skip Counting with a Number Board
While my sons and I finished up school, my husband made this number board:
My husband and son started using the number board to count from 1 to 100. As my son counted, he also pointed to each number on the number board. Having him point and count ensured he practiced one-to-one correspondence while counting, and was able to identify the numbers. It took some work, but eventually my son counted all the way to 100 on his own!
Next they used the number board to practice skip counting. I never realized, but skip counting can be a difficult concept for some kids to understand. They either don’t understand what is meant by skipping a number, or skipping a number makes them completely lose their spot while counting. We used the number board to make a visual representation of skip counting by twos. Using some small pieces of foam (you could also use uncooked beans), my son blocked out all the numbers he would skip. Then he pointed to each number as he skip counted from 2 to 100.
Once my son understood what “skip counting by 2s” meant, he started counting on his own, but used the foam pieces to block off the skipped numbers as he counted.
Every night before bed, my husband and son practiced using the number board. After a couple of weeks, my son was able to count to 100 by ones and twos without the number board!
For more ideas on skip counting, here are some fun activities to do with your kids!
- North American Wildlife Skip Counting Puzzles
Find 18 beautiful wild life skip counting puzzles! Puzzles include skip counting by twos, threes, fours, fives, sixes, sevens, eights, nines, and tens. - Panda Poses Puzzle and Game Freebie
18 adorable panda skip counting puzzles! Puzzles include skip counting by twos, threes, fours, fives, sixes, sevens, eights, nines, and tens. - Insect Skip Counting Puzzles
Perfect for kids who love bugs! Puzzles include skip counting by twos, threes, fours, fives, and tens. - Sunflower Skip Counting Coloring Page
Kids will love practicing skip counting while coloring a sunflower! While coloring, they will practice counting by threes, fours, and fives! - Earth Day Skip Counting Puzzles
A fun there for skip counting! All puzzles are related to Earth Day, and include pictures of the sun, recycling, and a tree. - Santa and his Reindeer Skip Counting by 5s Puzzle
Santa and his reindeers help kids count by 5s with this fun Christmas puzzle! - Hands-On Ocean Themed Skip Counting by 10 Puzzles
Kids will practice skip counting by 10s, with four ocean themed pages of puzzles. The adorable puzzles include skip counting all the way up to 400! - Fun Space Skip Counting by 5 Puzzles
Kids will have fun practicing counting by fives with these four cute space themed puzzles! - Hands-On Learning With Skip Counting Fish
Wow! This is a great resource for skip counting! Twelve pages of skip counting are included in this FREE resource. Kids will practice skip counting by twos, threes, fours, fives, sixes, sevens, eights, nines, tens, elevens, and twelves! - Fun Fine Motor Skip Counting Spiders Webs
A perfect skip counting activity for Halloween! Using string, kids will have fun practicing skip counting while making a spider web. Skip counting by twos, threes, and fives included. - How to teach skip counting
An easy, hands-on activity to teach skip counting. No printing or cutting required! Kids can practice skip counting by any number using a tape measure. - Egg Carton Skip Counting
Develop children’s fine motor skills and practice skip counting with this skip counting activity!
Try some of my other math activities!
Simple Turkey Counting Activity
One to One Correspondence Preschool Counting Thanksgiving Activity
Preschool Math with Magnetic Numbers