Kindergarten Count to 20 Worksheet with Noodle Bowls and a Domino Chart

Put a big group of bowls in front of a five-year-old and the count often drifts: a row gets counted twice, or the last bowl slips by. This kindergarten count to 20 worksheet with noodle bowls gives children a model first. A chart at the top shows each of the numbers 11 to 20 as a domino of ten dots plus a die or a second domino. Below it, two boxes hold noodle bowls in rows. Children count each set, then circle the total on a grid of numbers. The PDF has two pages: the worksheet and its answer key.

Why ten and some more is the big idea

Numbers past ten are tricky for a young child. The word "eleven" gives no clue that it means ten and one more. The chart at the top fixes that, because every column starts with the same domino of ten dots and then adds more.

So 13 reads as ten and three, and 17 as ten and seven. Teachers call this ten and some more, and it is the first step toward place value.

The dice and domino dots also train subitizing: seeing a small amount at a glance, without counting one by one. That frees the child to think about the ten. It matters a lot.

At the table: rows of bowls, one finger each

Start with the chart. Point to 15 and ask, "Where is the ten? Where is the five?" Let your child tap the big domino, then the die.

The first box has bowls in three even rows, so encourage your child to touch each bowl and count row by row. The second box is harder, because its last row is shorter. A child may lose the thread there and circle 19.

Instead of correcting, say, "Let's count again and put a dot on each bowl." A light pencil mark works well. Then compare the two boxes and ask which one has more bowls.

This is where count and circle becomes real checking. Finally, look at both circles together.

After the page: spoons, crackers and a memory game

Take counting to 20 into the kitchen. While you set the table, line up spoons in rows of five and count them together. At snack time, pour crackers into a bowl and ask your child to count out fifteen.

Also, turn the chart into a game of Memory. Make ten cards with the numbers 11 to 20 and ten cards with a drawing of ten dots and some more. Then flip two at a time and look for pairs.

Once you finish the page, check it with the answer key and praise the effort: "You touched every bowl, row by row. That is careful counting."