Space Skip Counting Puzzles
This post may contain affiliate links. That means if you click and buy, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Please see my disclosure policies for full details.
Help kids practice those skip counting skills with these super cute solar system skip counting puzzles.
Skip counting can be a really abstract concept for kids. Anytime you can get them to skip count with a hands-on activity, you will be concretely reinforcing this skill. Skip counting puzzles are a great hands-on activity, and kids will love these space-themed puzzles.
Related: Solar System Matching Game
What is the purpose of skip counting?
Skip counting is used for basic tasks like counting money and telling time.
Counting forward, backward, and skip counting lays the foundation for more advanced math like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
Using manipulatives like these skip counting puzzles can help reinforce an early mathematical foundation.
Where is skip counting in the standards?
I love the freedom that homeschool brings to our lives.
I am able to teach my daughter where she is and challenge her in areas that she is ready to be challenged.
While I enjoy the flexibility of homeschool, I equally love looking at the state standards.
While they are not perfect, they are a guide for me to know what to teach next.
If you are like me I have included the standards for you!
In Texas (where I am) skip counting is a 1st-grade standard.
Related: Galaxy Slime for Kids that is Out of This World!
This is probably because kids really need to understand one-to-one correspondence and the value of a given.
They also need to be able to look at a group of objects and tell if the group is less, more, or the same as a given number.
As I mentioned before skip counting can be abstract for some kids.
They certainly can memorize the pattern (2, 4, 6, 8, etc..) but what you really want them to understand is that 8 is two more than 4 and 4 is two more than 2, and so on.
If you are in a state that uses common core, skip counting isn’t mentioned in the standards until Grade 2.
Assuming your child has a solid understanding of the value of numbers (one means one of something, two means there is one more than one, 10 means there are ten ones) then introducing skip counting shouldn’t be a problem.
If you notice they aren’t grasping that when you skip count you are adding more to a group then go back and make sure they understand one-to-one and pull in some manipulatives for a more hands-on experience.
How to Use the Skip Counting Puzzles Like a Pro
This set of space-themed skip counting puzzles is the perfect way for kids to practice skip-counting orally.
They are also a fantastic visual for the sequence of skip counting. When you introduce these puzzles to your kiddos, be sure to also grab a handful of small manipulatives.
Coins are great for skip counting by twos, fives, and tens. You can also use counters, base ten blocks, or buttons. Anything that is small and can be grouped should work perfectly.
As your kiddo puts the puzzles together, have them also group the objects together with their manipulatives. Practice skip counting the groups and the pieces of the puzzle.
