Skip counting for kids means counting forward by the same amount each time, such as 2, 4, 6, 8 or 5, 10, 15, 20. Children usually start with 10s, then 5s and 2s. Songs, a hundreds chart, number line jumps and objects in groups all help, and skip counting leads straight into multiplication.
Below you'll find what children practice at each stage, the number patterns that make it easier, and simple activities with nothing to print.
Skip counting is counting by a number other than 1. Instead of "1, 2, 3, 4," you jump: "2, 4, 6, 8." Every number in the list is the same distance from the one before it.
It is really a fast way to count equal groups. Pairs of socks count by 2s. Nickels count by 5s. Fingers on a row of hands count by 10s. When a child skip counts real groups, the numbers mean something instead of being just a chant.
The Common Core State Standards spread it over several years:
Kindergarten: count to 100 by ones and by tens, and count forward from any number, not just from 1.
Second grade: count within 1000 and skip count by 5s, 10s and 100s. Children also decide whether a group of up to 20 objects is odd or even, for example by pairing objects or counting them by 2s. They add up rectangular arrays of up to 5 rows and 5 columns, which is skip counting by rows.
Third grade: multiply within 100, and by the end of the year know from memory all products of two one-digit numbers.
Your child's school may teach these in a different order, so ask the teacher what they're working on right now.
10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100
Point out the pattern: the ones digit is always 0, and the tens digit goes up by one each time. Hold up both hands for each 10, or bundle craft sticks in groups of ten. Once that's easy, start somewhere else: 7, 17, 27, 37. The ones digit stays the same.
5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50
Every number ends in 5 or 0. Count fingers one hand at a time, or count nickels if you use US coins. An analog clock is a built-in 5s chart, since each number on the face is 5 more minutes. Our guide on how to teach kids to tell time uses this idea.
2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20
Every number ends in 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8. These are the even numbers. Count shoes by the door, eyes around the dinner table or socks in the laundry basket.
3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30
4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, 40
These have fewer easy patterns, so build them with objects first. Wheels on toy cars count by 4s, and corners on paper triangles count by 3s.
100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000
Up to 900, this sounds just like counting by ones with "hundred" added. Then try starting from a number like 250: 350, 450, 550.
A hundreds chart is a 10 by 10 grid of the numbers 1 to 100. A What Works Clearinghouse practice guide on math intervention lists it as a picture-based tool for counting and skip counting, alongside hands-on base 10 blocks. You don't need to print one. Draw a grid on paper and fill it in together, which is good counting practice on its own.
Color the 10s: they all land in the last column.
Color the 5s: they make two straight columns.
Color the 2s: they make stripes, every other column.
Color the 3s: they make slanted lines. Ask your child why this pattern looks different.
Hidden number: while counting by 5s or 10s, cover a number with a coin. Your child says what's underneath.
Jump down: moving straight down one row adds 10. Moving up one row takes away 10.
Chant to a tune: sing the 5s or 10s to any tune your child already knows, such as a nursery rhyme. Making up your own tune together works just as well.
Whisper and shout: count by ones, whispering most numbers and shouting the skip numbers. For 3s: whisper "1, 2," shout "3," whisper "4, 5," shout "6." Later, drop the whispers.
Jump the number line: the same practice guide suggests showing counting patterns, such as skip counting by 2s, 5s or 10s, on a number line, where the same size jump repeats along the line. Tape a line on the floor and hop by 2s.
Clap and stomp: clap on each number when counting by 2s, and stomp on each 10.
Ball toss: pass a ball back and forth, saying the next number in the pattern on each catch.
The third grade standards explain multiplication as equal groups. Their example: 5 × 7 is the total number of objects in 5 groups of 7. Skip counting is how many children first find those totals.
The practice guide gives an example of a student solving 4 × 6 by drawing 4 circles with 6 dots in each and skip counting. You can do the same at home:
Draw 4 circles and put 6 dots in each.
Count by 6s, one circle at a time: 6, 12, 18, 24.
Raise one finger per circle so you know when to stop.
Write the fact: 4 × 6 = 24.
Over time, the goal shifts from counting to knowing. Skip counting stays useful as a backup when a fact slips.
Losing count of the jumps. Use fingers to track how many skips you've made.
Chanting without meaning. Connect the numbers to real groups whenever you can.
Only starting at zero. Practice from other numbers too, like counting by 10s from 23.
Going too long. A few minutes a day is plenty. Stop while it's still fun.
It's counting by the same number each time, like 5, 10, 15, 20. It is a quick way to count equal groups, and you can skip count backward too.
In the Common Core, kindergartners count to 100 by tens, and second graders skip count by 5s, 10s and 100s. In the US, that's roughly ages 5 to 8, but children vary.
Counting by 10s usually comes first, since the pattern is so clear. Then 5s and 2s, then 100s, and later 3s and 4s.
Not quite. Skip counting is one way to find a total by counting equal groups. Multiplication is the idea of equal groups itself. Children often use skip counting to work out facts until they know them from memory.
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Common Core State Standards: Kindergarten, Counting and Cardinality
Common Core State Standards: Grade 2, Number and Operations in Base Ten
Common Core State Standards: Grade 2, Operations and Algebraic Thinking
Common Core State Standards: Grade 3, Operations and Algebraic Thinking