Kindergarten math is mostly about counting and what numbers mean. Your child learns to count to 100, to count objects and say how many, to compare numbers and to add and subtract within 10. Your child also learns that the numbers 11 to 19 are ten ones and some more ones. Shapes, measuring and sorting fill the rest of the year. A child who ends kindergarten sure of counting and of adding and subtracting within 10 starts 1st grade ready.
The one-minute check
Put 5 spoons in a row on the table. Ask your child to count them, touching each one. Then ask, "How many spoons are there?"
If they get it
Your child says one number for each spoon, then answers 5 without counting again. That means counting already tells your child how many, and kindergarten math has something to build on.
If they do not
Your child touches a spoon twice or skips one, says the numbers faster than the touches, or starts again from 1 when asked how many. That is the gap to work on first.
Most of kindergarten math starts with counting a group correctly: comparing groups, adding, subtracting and the teen numbers. A child who can say the numbers in order but cannot yet count objects this way finds each of those topics harder, even when the new idea itself makes sense.
Read each line as "my child can…". Confident checks are strengths; hesitations are where to look closer.
Not every topic weighs the same. Counting, comparing numbers, adding and subtracting within 10 and the teen numbers are where most of kindergarten goes, and 1st grade is built on them. Shapes, measuring and sorting are real topics, but a smaller share of the year.
Saying the numbers in order and writing them. By the end of the year your child counts to 100 by ones and by tens, and writes the numbers from 0 to 20.
Comes from last year: Kindergarten is the first Common Core grade, so nothing is formally expected before it. A child who already says 1 to 10 in order, from songs, stairs or games, has a head start on counting to 100.
K.CC.1 · K.CC.2 · K.CC.3
The first big idea of kindergarten: the last number you say when you count tells how many there are. Your child counts objects in a line, in rows, in a circle or scattered on a table.
Comes from last year: Saying the numbers in order has to come first. A child who skips a number or says one twice gets a different total each time, however carefully the objects are touched.
K.CC.4 · K.CC.5
Which group has more, which has fewer, or are they the same? Your child compares groups of objects, then compares two written numbers up to 10.
Comes from last year: Counting a group and knowing that the last number tells how many. A child who still counts one object twice cannot compare two groups fairly.
K.CC.6 · K.CC.7
Addition as putting together and subtraction as taking away, shown with fingers, objects, drawings and short stories. The numbers stay at 10 or below.
Comes from last year: Counting objects with one number for each object. Early adding is counting: a child puts 3 blocks with 2 blocks and counts all 5. A child who miscounts small groups gets wrong answers even when the idea of adding is clear.
K.OA.1 · K.OA.2 · K.OA.3 · K.OA.4 · K.OA.5
The numbers 11 to 19 are ten ones and some more ones. This is the first step toward place value (the idea that where a digit sits tells what it is worth), which 1st grade builds on.
Comes from last year: Counting to 20 and counting 20 objects. Teen numbers are where saying the numbers and counting things have to meet: a child counts a full 10 and then keeps going.
K.NBT.1
Flat shapes (squares, circles, triangles, rectangles and hexagons) and solid shapes (cubes, cones, cylinders and spheres), named at any size and turned any way.
Comes from last year: Nothing from an earlier grade. A child may already know circle and square by name, but only for the usual picture: a triangle that points up, a square that sits flat.
K.G.1 · K.G.2 · K.G.3 · K.G.4 · K.G.5 · K.G.6
Describing and comparing objects by length or weight, then sorting objects into groups and counting each group.
Comes from last year: Counting objects to 10, for the sorting. Measuring in kindergarten uses no ruler: a child compares two objects directly, so the words longer, shorter, heavier and lighter matter more than numbers.
K.MD.1 · K.MD.2 · K.MD.3
These are the Common Core standards for kindergarten math. Each link opens a page that explains the topic in simple words, with examples, the usual sticking points and four practice questions.
| Area | What schools teach | Share of the year |
|---|---|---|
| Counting and writing numbers | Saying the numbers in order and writing them. By the end of the year your child counts to 100 by ones and by tens, and writes the numbers from 0 to 20. | Major |
| Counting objects: how many? | The first big idea of kindergarten: the last number you say when you count tells how many there are. Your child counts objects in a line, in rows, in a circle or scattered on a table. | Major |
| Comparing numbers | Which group has more, which has fewer, or are they the same? Your child compares groups of objects, then compares two written numbers up to 10. | Major |
| Adding and subtracting within 10 | Addition as putting together and subtraction as taking away, shown with fingers, objects, drawings and short stories. The numbers stay at 10 or below. | Major |
| Teen numbers | The numbers 11 to 19 are ten ones and some more ones. This is the first step toward place value (the idea that where a digit sits tells what it is worth), which 1st grade builds on. | Major |
| Shapes and position | Flat shapes (squares, circles, triangles, rectangles and hexagons) and solid shapes (cubes, cones, cylinders and spheres), named at any size and turned any way. | Smaller |
| Measuring and sorting | Describing and comparing objects by length or weight, then sorting objects into groups and counting each group. | Smaller |
Five real problems from our kindergarten bank. Work through them with your child, check each answer, and see the steps for any problem.
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Problem 1
The answer is 7 because 7 is the last shaded number on the chart.
Problem 2
The cup is next to the plate. The owl is not next to the rabbit.
Problem 3
Picture 1 (crayons) shows Length. Picture 2 (watermelons on a balance scale) shows Weight. Picture 3 (bottles) shows How much it holds.
Problem 4
The second ten-frame has 4 counters. The model shows 14 as 10 ones (in the first ten-frame) and 4 more ones (in the second ten-frame).
Problem 5
8 fish are swimming in the tank.
3 of them swim away.
The correct number sentence is . The story starts with fish, swim away, and are left.
These are not careless mistakes. Each one is a rule that worked perfectly well until this year, applied consistently to a place where it no longer holds, which is why the same wrong answer keeps coming back. Recognising the specific rule is far more useful than more practice.
Counts 6 blocks and gets 7.
The spoken numbers and the pointing finger are not yet in step, so one block gets two numbers. Moving each block into a new pile as it is counted keeps one number for each block.
Says a spread-out row of 5 buttons has more than a row of 5 buttons close together.
The longer row looks like more. Matching the buttons one to one, or counting both rows, shows that moving objects apart does not change how many there are.
Writes fourteen as 41.
The teen names say the ones first: four-teen. The 4 is heard first, so it gets written first. Building 14 as ten ones and four more ones shows why the 1 comes first.
Says a triangle that points down is not a triangle.
Most pictures show a triangle sitting on one side and pointing up. A shape’s name comes from its sides and corners, not from which way it faces. Kindergarten asks children to name shapes turned any way.
Schools vary, but most kindergarten classrooms move in about this order. Useful if you are trying to work out whether something is genuinely behind or simply has not been taught yet.
Next year does not re-teach these. It starts from them, which is why a gap left open over the summer tends to show up in October rather than in June.
Free kindergarten math quick check
Ten questions on the year’s main topics, about 10 to 15 minutes, with a worked solution for every one. Take it online or print it with the answer key.
Start the quick check →
Math for kindergarteners centers on counting. Children count to 100, count objects and say how many, write numbers to 20, compare numbers, add and subtract within 10 and learn that the teen numbers are ten ones and some more ones. Shapes, measuring and sorting fill the rest of the year.
The Common Core has 22 kindergarten math standards in five areas: counting and cardinality (knowing that the last number counted tells how many); operations and algebraic thinking; number and operations in base ten; measurement and data; and geometry. Counting, adding and subtracting within 10 and the teen numbers carry the most weight. The standards set the goals, and each school picks its own kindergarten math curriculum (the books and lessons) to teach them.
Start with the one-minute counting check on this page. For a broader read, try the free 10-question quick check. The Level Up assessment, about 30 to 40 questions on a computer or tablet, adapts to each answer and shows where your child stands. It is included in the free trial.
