🎒 Getting Ready for 1st Grade · Lesson 3 of 7
Numbers and first math
Counting, quantities, more and less, shapes and patterns.
Counting is not just saying numbers
Kids can “sing” 1 to 20 without understanding. Real counting means touching each object once and knowing the last number is how many there are. Count real things: stairs, grapes, socks.
Kindergarten math (Common Core)
| Counting | To 100 by ones and by tens |
|---|---|
| Writing numbers | 0–20 |
| Comparing | Which group has more? fewer? the same? |
| Adding and subtracting | Within 10, with objects or fingers |
| Shapes | Circle, square, triangle, rectangle, hexagon, cube, sphere… |
Math in everyday life
“We have 5 plates and 3 people come — how many extra?” “You have 7 grapes, eat 2 — how many left?” Cooking, setting the table, sorting laundry and board games like Chutes and Ladders are math practice.
Patterns
Red, blue, red, blue… what comes next? Patterns with beads, blocks or claps (clap, stomp, clap, stomp) build the thinking behind math.
Tip
💡 Ask “How did you figure that out?” — explaining their thinking matters more than the right answer.
✏️ Practice: your turn
- Count real objects together every day this week
- Play a board game with dice
- Make a pattern with blocks and ask “what comes next?”
- Ask one everyday math question at dinner
🧠 Quick quiz
Answer all 4 questions correctly to mark this lesson as done.
0 of 4 correct
All lessons in Getting Ready for 1st Grade
- 🌱 1. What “readiness” really meansFeelings, friends, independence and attention — and what isn’t expected
- 🔤 2. Sounds and lettersRhymes, first sounds, syllables and letters — the fun way
- 🔢 3. Numbers and first mathCounting, quantities, more and less, shapes and patterns
- ✏️ 4. Fine motor skills and pencil gripScissors, lines, drawing and writing their name
- 🧦 5. Independence and routinesBackpack, bathroom, lunchbox, sleep and mornings
- 💛 6. The emotional sideTalking about the change, saying goodbye, friends and confidence
- ☀️ 7. The summer plan15 minutes a day, what to buy, the first week, and who to call