How it works
- Pick your numbers: 0 to 5, 0 to 10, the teens, or any you choose.
- Choose a size and handwriting style. The sheet on the right updates as you go.
- Decide on tracing only, or trace then write with empty space at the end of each row.
- Download and print. All the numbers come out in one PDF.
Forming numbers the right way
Most numbers start at the top, just like letters. Children who start a 5 at the bottom or draw an 8 as two circles find numbers harder to write quickly later on. The start dot shows exactly where to put the pencil, and the arrow shows the first move. For 4 and 5, which take two strokes, the numbers 1 and 2 show the order.
Ideas for number practice
Count it, then write it
Before tracing a number, have children count out that many counters, blocks or claps. Writing a number means more when it stands for a quantity they just made.
Watch for reversals
Reversing 2, 3, 5, 7 and 9 is common and normal in Foundation. Extra practice with start dots on just those numbers helps.
Teen numbers
Say “ten and three more” for 13. The ten frame worksheets show the same idea in pictures.
In the Australian Curriculum
- Before schoolEarly Years Learning Framework Outcome 5 includes children beginning to use symbols, such as numerals, to communicate.
- FoundationNaming, representing and ordering numbers including zero to at least 20, using materials and numerals (AC9MFN01).
- FoundationLinking number names, numerals and their place in the counting sequence, part of the Foundation achievement standard.
The 0 to 20 range here matches the Foundation curriculum, which starts at zero. Include 0 when you practise and show it as “none”: an empty plate, an empty hand, an empty ten frame.
Numeral shapes follow your state’s handwriting model, so a 4 or a 9 can look slightly different on NSW, Victorian and Queensland charts. Choose the same style for numbers as for letters, so children see one model across the classroom.
Summarised in our own words from the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics, Version 9.0 (ACARA) and the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia, V2.0.
