WHAT IS SKIP COUNTING?
Skip Counting is counting while skipping numbers at regular intervals. Children will commonly learn to count by 10’s, 5’s and 2’s. Skip counting is an important math skill for many reasons. Counting by 2’s helps children count a group of objects faster. Skip counting also helps with Addition and Multiplication Math Facts, and Patterning.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
Be sure your child begins at 0 (zero) when first learning to skip count by 2’s. He should count “0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12,” etc… on the EVEN numbers. Later, he may learn to skip count on the odd numbers (i.e. 1, 3, 5, 7…).
TIPS/ACTIVITIES
- Provide your child with a Hundreds Board. Have your child point to each number (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, etc…) as he counts. Or, you could provide your child with pennies or small plastic chips to cover each number as he skip counts by 2’s.
- Ask your child if he sees the pattern of the numbers (i.e. they all end with a 2, 4, 6, 8, or 0). If he doesn’t see it, be sure to point it out to him.
- Teach him this rhyme: “Two, Four, Six, Eight, meet me at the garden gate”.
- Using sidewalk chalk, draw the numbers 0 – 20 on the ground in a straight line. Have your child stand in front of the number 0 (zero), and hop to the 2, then 4, then 6…and hop your way to 20. This will allow him to see that counting by 2’s involves skipping over one number each time.
- BOOKS: There are several Skip Counting books available at your local library or bookstore.
RELATED CONCEPTS:
- Counting
- Greater Than/Less Than
- Even and Odd Numbers
- Ordinal Numbers
- Counting Money
- Place Value
- Patterning
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