Math skills kindergarten


Math Skills for Kindergarten, What Your Child Will Learn, Komodo Math

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As your child heads into kindergarten, you’ll be feeling all sorts of emotions. You may be wondering: How can my baby be that old? Is she ready? What exactly is he going to learn in kindergarten?

While kindergarten may have changed since you were a child, it still forms the foundation of your child’s schooling and we wrote earlier about how to prepare for a successful start to the school adventure. 

In math, students will learn the basics of how numbers work while exploring place value and the concepts of addition and subtraction. 

But there’s no need to figure everything out as your child does - this article will help you get a head start by knowing what to expect. 

In kindergarten your child will learn how to: 

1.

Count to 100 

Going into the school year, your child may be able to orally count to 10 or beyond. By the end of kindergarten, expect that counting to advance to 100. But don’t worry, we’re only talking about counting orally. Your kindergartner will not be expected to write all the numbers to 100. 

In most kindergarten classrooms, teachers count the days of school with the children. By counting each day, children gradually become more fluent with bigger and bigger numbers. At the end of 100 days, kindergarten classrooms often have a big celebration with many more opportunities for counting. 

At home: To support your child’s counting skills, encourage your kindergartner to count as high as possible. This is a great task to give your child in the car - or even at bedtime! 

2. Answer “how many?” questions about groups of objects 

As well as counting to 100, kindergartners will be asked to count how many objects are in a group. Students need to be able to physically count objects one at a time, assigning one number to each object as they count. This is a skill called one-to-one correspondence. 

At home: Ask children to tell you how many toys they are playing with and watch how they keep track of each object that is counted. If your kindergartner counts the same object twice or skips an object, encourage another try.

3. Solve basic addition and subtraction problems 

In kindergarten, children start to develop an understanding of addition and subtraction within 10. Kindergartners start by solving problems involving physical objects, and as the year goes on, students learn to draw pictures to represent addition and subtraction problems. They will even begin to solve simple word problems.

At home: Present two groups of blocks (less than 10 in all) and have your child add the blocks together. As your child develops understanding, you can ask simple addition or subtraction problems without using the physical objects as a support.  

4. Understand the numbers 11-19 as a ten plus some ones 

Though it may seem quite advanced, your kindergartner will begin to understand the concept of place value and that position makes some numbers bigger than others - ie get to grips with the idea that 21 is bigger than 12. Students may use place value blocks to be able to “see” how ten ones become a ten. 

At home: When counting blocks or lego bricks at home, make a group of ten. Then add on extra “ones” to make the numbers 11-19. You can even talk about place value when looking at written two-digit numbers. 

5. Name shapes 

Kindergartners will learn about 2D and 3D shapes. They should be able to name different shapes while describing their features. Kindergartners love to recognize shapes in the real world! 

At home: Help your child by having them spot squares, cubes, spheres, rectangles, etc. Challenge your kindergartener to draw pictures using basic 2D shapes, then talk to you about the drawings. Making and continuing shape patterns is another fun way to help engage your kindergartner as they learn about shapes.

Throughout the year, make sure to ask your child about what’s happening in kindergarten math. Give your child an opportunity to teach you by sharing what he or she has learned. Get ready for a fun year in kindergarten! 

Found this useful? Check out our grade by grade math guides from Kindergarten to 5th grade

Written by Lily Jones, Lily loves all things learning. She has been a kindergarten & first grade teacher, instructional coach, curriculum developer, and teacher trainer. She loves to look at the world with curiosity and inspire people of all ages to love learning. She lives in California with her husband, two kids, and a little dog. 

About Komodo – Komodo is a fun and effective way to boost K-5 math skills. Designed for 5 to 11-year-olds to use in the home, Komodo uses a little and often approach to learning math (15 minutes, three to five times per week) that fits into the busy family routine. Komodo helps users develop fluency and confidence in math – without keeping them at the screen for long.

Find out more about Komodo and how it helps thousands of children each year do better at maths – you can even try Komodo for free. 

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Important math skills for kindergarten

Want to help your kindergartner master math? Here are some of the skills your child would be learning in the kindergarten classroom.

Numbers

Words and numerals for numbers

Know the words for numbers (“one,” “two,” “three,” “four” for 1, 2, 3, 4) through 20. Write numbers from 0 through 20.

Counting to 100

Count to 100, by ones and by tens.

Tip: Incorporate basic math concepts.

Try to incorporate basic math concepts into everyday activities. Have your child count objects regularly and pose easy counting challenges, such as counting the number of steps on a flight of stairs or the number of red cars you see while driving. Take opportunities to count by twos or fives or tens, for example if you’ve bought many of the same item at the grocery store or need to count a pile of coins.

Counting objects in groups

Count how many objects are in a group (to 20). By counting or matching objects, tell whether the number of objects in one group is greater than (more) or less than (less), or equal to (the same as) the number of objects in another group.

Comparisons between small numbers

Compare any two numbers between 1 and 10, and tell which is greater than or less than the other.

Understanding numbers 11 - 19

Understand numbers 11 through 19 as ten ones and some additional ones.

Addition, subtraction, multiplication, & division

Addition & subtraction

Understand addition as “putting together” and “adding to.” Understand subtraction as “taking apart” and “taking away from.”

Tip: Apply math to everyday life.

It's especially memorable to children when they can use their new math concepts in their everyday life. Have your child arrange their favorite stuffed animals in a circle for a party and give two or three crackers to each toy. Have them add up the total number of crackers distributed. Ask them to predict how many more crackers they would need if one of their toy action figures joined the party. Then ask them to predict the total number of crackers needed with yet another guest. This gives them an opportunity to "add up" in their head and then see if they are correct when they actually add the next figure and counts up the new total. The game can be played in reverse when one of the figures leaves the party, taking their crackers with them.

Master adding and subtracting

Add and subtract within 5 (1 to 5) quickly and accurately.

Solving word problems

Using objects, fingers, simple math drawings, or mental images, solve addition word problems involving numbers that add up to 10 or less, and subtraction word problems involving subtraction from 10 or less.

Adding to 10

For any number, 1 through 9, find the unknown number (quantity) needed to total 10. Show the answer with a drawing or equation (number sentence).

Breaking up numbers

Break up numbers, 3 through 10, into pairs, in more than one way.

Measurement & data

Measuring in different ways

Understand that objects can be measured in different ways: length (“how long”), height (“how high” or “how tall”), and weight (“how heavy”). Compare the length, height, and/or weight of two objects.

Relative position of objects

Describe the relative position of objects – for example, above, below, in front, behind.

Shapes

Naming common shapes

Name common shapes, such as squares, rectangles, circles, triangles. Describe common shapes in simple terms: “Circles are round.” “Triangles have three sides.”

Tip: Practice shape recognition.

Practice recognition of different shapes. Have your child spot things that are triangular, like pieces of pizza or the roof of a house, or rectangular, like paper money. As you talk about different shapes, have them describe why a shape they spot is a triangle (three sides) or a square (four equal sides) or a rectangle (two opposite equal sides and two other opposite equal sides of longer length).

Understanding flat and solid shapes

Understand the difference between “flat” or two-dimensional shapes (a square or circle drawn on paper) and “solid” or three-dimensional shapes (a wooden block or cube; a sphere or globe).

Creating shapes

Use building and drawing to create shapes.

For tips to help your kindergarten in math class, check out our kindergarten math tips page.

TODAY's Parenting Guides were developed by NBC News Learn with the help of subject-matter experts, and align with the Common Core State Standards.

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