Why are the pictures scattered?

In a neat row children can spot how many without counting. Scattered pictures make them count one by one, touching each picture once, which is the skill these sheets practise.

Which is easier, write or circle?

Circling the right number is easier: children only need to recognise the numeral. Writing it asks them to form the numeral too. Start with circling, then move to writing.

Can every child get a different sheet?

Yes. Choose 5, 10 or 25 versions and every sheet has different pictures and numbers, each with its own answer key.

Do the pictures print in colour?

Yes, or choose Ink saver to print them as outlines children can colour in after counting.

Are counts to 20 too hard for Reception?

Not as a stretch. The goals ask Reception children to count aloud beyond 20, but their deep understanding of number is expected within 10. Use counts to 10 for most of the year and counts to 20 for children who already count objects reliably.

Counting Worksheets: Count the Pictures to 5, 10 and 20

Counting is more than saying numbers

Children can often recite numbers long before they can count objects. Counting a scattered group asks them to match one number to one picture, keep track of what they have counted, and know that the last number says how many. These sheets practise all three.

How to use them

Start with counts to 5 and circling the number, then counts to 10, then writing. Counts to 20 suit Reception and Year 1, when children start to count larger groups.

Curriculum links in England

ReceptionThe Number goal expects a deep understanding of numbers to 10, including how each is made up, and subitising up to 5.
CountingReception children count aloud beyond 20 and notice the pattern of the counting system.
Year 1Pupils count, read and write numbers to 100, and read and write 1 to 20 in numerals and words.

The current early learning goals put more weight on knowing small numbers well than on counting high, so a Reception class may spend weeks on numbers to 5 and to 10. The EYFS framework also names subitising: seeing up to 5 without counting. With the scattered sheets, ask some children to say the total of a small group at a glance before they check by counting.

Nursery children in England follow the EYFS too, but the early learning goals describe what most children can do at the end of Reception, so keep Nursery to counts to 5.

Summarised in our own words from the EYFS statutory framework (early learning goals) and the National Curriculum in England: mathematics programmes of study (DfE).