Peaches, Ice Pops and Frogs: Count Big Groups and Circle the Total

Listen to a young child count aloud, and you will often hear a wobble right after ten. The words past ten are odd ones, since nothing in "eleven" says ten and one. This Pre-K count 1 to 20 worksheet with peaches and frogs gives those words a job. There are three boxes to count. Red peaches are scattered loosely, green ice pops stand in two neat rows, and green frogs sit in three lines. Beside each box is a number grid to 20, where your child circles the total.

After ten, the words stop helping

Up to ten, children rely on a chant they know by heart. After ten, however, English hides the pattern. "Eleven" and "twelve" give no clue that they mean ten and one, ten and two. So counting past ten is partly memory and partly an idea. Each new number is simply one more than ten, then one more again. That is the whole idea.

The ice pop box shows it plainly. Two rows of five make ten, while one ice pop stands apart on the right. Eleven is right there: a full ten and one extra.

The other two boxes then ask for something else. The peaches and the frogs both come to 14, yet they look nothing alike. Spotting the same total in two shapes is an early step. It shows that a number does not depend on how things are arranged.

Ice pops first, peaches last

Order matters on this page. Start with the ice pops, because the rows do half the work. Point to the top row and ask, "How many here?" Then do the bottom row, then the lonely one. Let your child say the total before circling 11 in the pink grid.

The peaches come last, and for good reason. They sit in a loose cluster, so a child easily counts one twice. The peach tucked under the top row is also easy to skip. If the answer comes out as 13 or 15, don't give the number. Instead, say, "Let's put a tiny dot on each peach." Then count again together. Usually the dots reveal the problem on their own.

When the frogs are done too, ask, "Which box has more, peaches or frogs?" Many children pick one at a glance, before counting. Finding 14 twice is a small, real surprise.

Frog jumps on the way to the park

Peaches and frogs both lead off the page. At the store, let your child drop fruit into the bag one at a time. Count out loud together as you pass ten. On a walk, count hops: "Let's do twelve frog jumps to the tree." Both build counting stamina, the ability to keep going past ten without losing track.

Then, for a song, Five Little Speckled Frogs fits the frog box well. In each verse, one frog jumps into the pool. So your child can hold up five fingers and fold one down each time.

Finally, praise the patience it took: "You counted fourteen peaches, even the hidden one." Keeping track that long is hard work. It deserves to be named.