Kindergarten Math: how to help at home
What your child learns in Kindergarten math in the New York State Learning Standards, and simple things to try at home.
Focus areas this year
- Number and operations: counting to 100, numbers to 20, and adding and subtracting within 10
- Measurement, data and geometry: naming shapes, comparing lengths and weights, sorting, and meeting pennies and dimes
- Mathematical practices: making sense of problems and explaining reasoning
Easy ways to practice math at home
- Count everyday things out loud: stairs, grapes, steps to the car.
- Sort laundry or toys into groups, then ask which group has more.
- Spot shapes on a walk: circles on signs, rectangles on doors.
- Make patterns with snacks or blocks (red, blue, red, blue) and let your child continue them.
What each unit covers
Count to 10
Counting objects one at a time, matching numbers to amounts, counting on and back, putting numbers in order, and knowing that nothing is zero.
Make 5 and 10
Using 5 and 10 as anchors (fingers, five and ten frames), finding how many more make 5 or 10, and breaking numbers into two parts.
Add & Take Away
Small story problems where some join or some leave (totals to 10), plus finding one more and one less.
More, Less, Same
Comparing groups by matching them one to one, seeing equal as balanced and unequal as unbalanced on a scale, and reading simple picture graphs.
Shapes & Sizes
Naming flat shapes and solid objects by one feature (sides, corners, rolls or not), and comparing things by size, height, length, weight and how much they hold.
Patterns
Spotting the part that repeats in patterns like AB, AAB, ABB and ABC, then predicting what comes next or what is missing.
Numbers to 20
Counting to 20 forward and back from any number, recognizing small groups at a glance, and comparing two numbers.
See It Fast
Subitizing means knowing how many are in a small group without counting. Practice with dice, dominoes and fingers: show a number and ask how many.
Build with Blocks
Practices naming and describing 3-D objects (sphere, cube, cylinder, cone) by how they look and move, and choosing blocks to build with. At home, build a tower and talk about which block goes where and why.
Count to 100
Counting to 100 by ones and by tens, counting on from any number, and seeing 11 to 19 as ten and some more ones.
Sort & Count
Sorting things into groups, counting each group, saying which group has more, and choosing a question we can answer by asking the class.
Pennies & Dimes
Meeting US coins: the penny, nickel, dime and quarter, with a focus on telling pennies from dimes, and counting pennies to add and take away within 10. Values come next year.
Build & Draw Shapes
Using shapes to draw and build the things around us (a door is a rectangle, a ball is a sphere), and putting small shapes together to make bigger ones, like two squares making a rectangle.
What the report card levels look like at home
- Beginning
- Just getting started with this idea. Short, regular practice with lots of support helps most.
- Approaching
- Understands parts of it and is building confidence. Keep practicing the tricky parts.
- Meeting
- Has it! Mixed review now and then keeps it strong.
- Exceeding
- Applies it confidently, even in new or harder situations. Try challenge mode and real-life problems.
Your child’s teacher decides the level on the report card. Read the New York report card guide.
Common questions
Count everyday things out loud: stairs, grapes, steps to the car. Sort laundry or toys into groups, then ask which group has more. Keep sessions short, about 10 to 15 minutes, and stop on a success.
The New York State Learning Standards Kindergarten math units include Count to 10, Make 5 and 10, Add & Take Away, More, Less, Same, Shapes & Sizes, Patterns.
Free printable Kindergarten math practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.