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PSPKK1239 Comments

Counting using five and ten frames

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In today’s post I’ll share simple ways to use five and ten frames to teaching counting. Grab your free printables at the end!

Try these simple counting activities using five and ten frames! Grab the free printables, too!

This post contains affiliate links.

Have you been following along with our counting bin series? I’ve been sharing simple, low prep (and low ink!) activities that you can use to teach your preschooler to count to ten.

Today we’re using five and ten frames.

Try these simple counting activities using five and ten frames! Grab the free printables, too!

To begin, I placed a five frame in front of my three-year-old. Then I put several unfix cubes on the frame and asked her how many there were.

She could count 1, 2, and 3 cubes instantly.

Try these simple counting activities using five and ten frames! Grab the free printables, too!

She needed to use her finger to count 4 and 5 cubes.

The goal is that she’s able to recognize 4 and 5 objects without physically counting them. We’ll get there!

Try these simple counting activities using five and ten frames! Grab the free printables, too!

After having her count the cubes a few times, we played a different game. I put fish erasers on the frame and asked, “How many more do we need to fill all the boxes?”

Try these simple counting activities using five and ten frames! Grab the free printables, too!

“One!” She filled the empty space with another fish.

Try these simple counting activities using five and ten frames! Grab the free printables, too!

Here’s another activity to try. This one is a memory game and is designed to help your child recognize amounts quickly without counting them (this is called subitizing).

First,  I showed my Three the fish on the frame for just a second or two.

Try these simple counting activities using five and ten frames! Grab the free printables, too!

Then I covered the frame and asked her if she could remember how many fish she saw.

Try these simple counting activities using five and ten frames! Grab the free printables, too!

I expected her to tell me the number, but she held up her fingers instead. That works too!

Try these simple counting activities using five and ten frames! Grab the free printables, too!

Now it was time to work with a ten frame. I pulled out a long ten frame, and we counted one by one as we placed the counters on it.

“One, two, three, four, five …”

Try these simple counting activities using five and ten frames! Grab the free printables, too!

Next, we played a game. I gave each of us a ten frame, and I prepared a set of cards with one or two dots (also in your download at the end of this post).

We took turns drawing a card and adding that many fish to our frames. The first to fill the frame, won.

I like using cards with just one or two dots because these are easy numbers for young preschoolers to work with.

Try these simple counting activities using five and ten frames! Grab the free printables, too!

Another thing you can do is print the shorter ten frame. Put a number of objects on it and ask your preschooler how many more objects you need to fill up the frame.

This was a little hard for my Three, and by this time she was getting tired.

Try these simple counting activities using five and ten frames! Grab the free printables, too!

With some help, she held up five fingers.

Try these simple counting activities using five and ten frames! Grab the free printables, too!

Finally, we played a quick matching game. She had to make her ten frame look like mine.

As you can see, there are many different ways to play with five and ten frames! I learned about most of these games from the fantastic little book, Preschool Math at Home. I recommend it!

See the whole series here

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Members of The Measured Mom Plus get access to even more printables, with new ones added each month!

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Get your free printables!

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Free Math Printables for Pre-K-3rd Grade

Join our email list and get this sample pack of time-saving resources from our membership site! You'll get printables for counting, addition and subtraction, measuring, problem solving, and more!

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Filed Under: Counting Tagged With: counting, preschool, kindergarten, Pre-K

You May Also Enjoy These Posts:

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5 ways to use number cards with preschoolers
Count to 10 games

Reader Interactions

9 Comments

  1. Lynda Way

    August 14, 2017 at 6:47 am

    I appreciate your ideas that can be helpful for every kid. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna G

      September 4, 2017 at 9:34 am

      You’re very welcome, Lynda! I hope you find many helpful resources on my site!

      Reply to this comment
  2. Gail John

    July 15, 2017 at 5:17 pm

    Hi Ann, you are truly indeed a God-sent. I teach a mixed group 3’s and 4’s and was running out of ideas. I blessed the day i found/subscribed to you post.
    God bless you and you love ones.

    Thanks for all the freebies.

    Reply to this comment
  3. Tkay

    July 10, 2017 at 3:21 pm

    Hi Anna, I love this. My wheels are spinning on how to make this into an independent center in my kinder class this fall. So, I have a question. Do you think you’d ever have time to make videos. I only ask because I love The teaching channel videos. I watch them when I’m prepping food for a meal or something else where I can divide my mind. It’s harder when I have to scroll through a post. However, I’ll take your advice and tips anyway I can. Thank you for sharing your gift with us.

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      July 10, 2017 at 6:43 pm

      I would love to do that some day. And I know I SHOULD be doing it. But the learning curve and time it would take are not something I can fit into my life right now. Right now I’m creating an online course for teaching reading. Maybe after that… in 2018??

      Reply to this comment
  4. Deebi27

    July 10, 2017 at 1:07 am

    I love the simplicity of these 5 and 10 frames. So many possibilities! Can’t wait to use these with my grandsons. I am trying to give them the best FUN start for Kindergarten in a few years down the road. The granddaughter will use them as well, but she hasn’t arrived yet! Thank you for making my endeavor so much easier!

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      July 16, 2017 at 7:36 am

      It sounds like your grandkids have a fun grandma! I’m so glad you can use my resources!

      Reply to this comment
  5. Rhonda

    July 9, 2017 at 5:45 pm

    Anna, I always love your posts. I teach 4’s but some are still 3’s in a lot of ways. Thanks for all your wonderful freebies. You’re a Godsend to teachers with limited resources.

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      July 16, 2017 at 7:40 am

      Thanks so much for this kind comment, Rhonda! It really made my day!

      Reply to this comment

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