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 New Entrants. 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 New Zealand Curriculum
- Te WhārikiFor preschoolers, Mana reo | Communication includes recognising maths symbols and using them with meaning and purpose.
- First 6 monthsRecognising, saying and writing the numerals 0 to 20, and being taught to handwrite numbers correctly.
- Year 1Writing numbers neatly with a good pencil grip, and counting to 30 in te reo Māori.
The number words on these sheets are in English. Year 1 children also count in te reo Māori, so say the te reo word aloud as children trace: tahi, rua, toru, whā, rima, ono, whitu, waru, iwa, tekau.
0 to 10 and the teen numbers together cover the numerals new entrants learn to write in their first six months.
Summarised in our own words from Te Whāriki (2017), the early childhood curriculum, and the New Zealand Curriculum: Mathematics and Statistics, Years 0–8 (in effect from 2025).
