Count back from 5 to 1 in preschool: one fewer

Kindergarten (ages 5–6)

Take away 1 with numbers up to 5: a boy picks a carrot beside a row of five carrots and a row of four, with 5, −1 and a question mark.

Count back from 5 to 1: the bottom row has one object fewer, your child writes how many there are and sees the answer. Last year of preschool.

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Teaching documentation of the game “Count back from 5 to 1”

About this game

The bottom row has one object fewer: write how many there are. The right answer appears after each question.

Count back from 5 to 1 in preschool: read one object fewer

Counting back means counting backwards: five, four, three, two, one. This gesture prepares subtraction, well before first grade. Counting back from 5 to 1 in preschool also helps children see that each number has a neighbor just before it. So they no longer just recite the counting rhyme: they go through it in both directions.

The screen shows two rows of objects. The number of the top row is written. The bottom row has one object fewer. The child then writes how many there are at the bottom, in digits. The hint invites them to look at the empty boxes and to go back one number for each. After each question, the right answer appears straight away.

To go further, line up five soft toys and count them together. Then hide one and ask how many are left. For example, sing a counting-down rhyme, like “Five little monkeys”. Counting back from 5 to 1 also becomes a game before every start: five, four, three, two, one, go!

The game is for the last year of preschool, around ages 5 and 6. It is free online, on a computer, tablet or phone.

Tip for counting back

Look at the number written at the top. Then look at the bottom row: there is one more empty box. So go back one number. For example, there are five at the top: at the bottom, you say four. Think of a rocket: five, four, three, two, one! Next, write your number in digits. Finally, look at the answer that appears.