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Skip counting
Count by 2s, 5s, 10s, and every number up to 12s.
Pick a number and watch it hop along the chart, then take a turn and tap where it lands yourself. Further down you will find every count from 2s to 12s with a pattern that helps, and a chart and worksheets to print.
Press "Watch it hop", or try it yourself.
0 of 12 hops
Counting by 5s is the 5 times table, and Pytha is its dragon. The 5 times table
In one sentence
What is skip counting?
Skip counting means counting forward by the same number each time instead of by ones. Counting by 5s goes 5, 10, 15, 20, 25: you skip the four numbers in between.
The numbers you say are a times table in order. That is why skip counting is how most children first meet multiplication, long before they learn the facts by heart.
In the UK the same thing is called counting in steps, or counting in 2s, 5s and 10s.
Count by 2s
2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 …
Count by 5s
5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 …
Count by 10s
10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 …
Every number
Count by 2s, 3s, 4s and on up to 12s
Each number gets twelve hops, one pattern that helps you hear it, and its own sheets to print. Each count is also a times table, and its link takes you there.
Count by 2s
2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24
Every number you land on is even, and the last digit goes 2, 4, 6, 8, 0, then starts again.
That is the 2 times table, and Dio is its dragon.
Count by 3s
3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 36
Up to 36, add the digits of any number you land on and you get 3, 6 or 9: 1 + 8 = 9 for 18.
That is the 3 times table, and Eudo is its dragon.
Count by 4s
4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, 40, 44, 48
You land on every other number of the 2s. The last digit goes 4, 8, 2, 6, 0, then starts again.
That is the 4 times table, and Thales is its dragon.
Count by 5s
5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60
Every number ends in 5 or in 0, taking turns.
That is the 5 times table, and Pytha is its dragon.
Count by 6s
6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, 48, 54, 60, 66, 72
You land on every other number of the 3s. The last digit goes 6, 2, 8, 4, 0, then starts again.
That is the 6 times table, and Plato is its dragon.
Count by 7s
7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, 56, 63, 70, 77, 84
The last digit goes 7, 4, 1, 8, 5, 2, 9, 6, 3, 0: every digit once before the pattern starts again.
That is the 7 times table, and Aris is its dragon.
Count by 8s
8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48, 56, 64, 72, 80, 88, 96
You land on every other number of the 4s. The last digit counts down, 8, 6, 4, 2, 0, then starts again.
That is the 8 times table, and Hypatia is its dragon.
Count by 9s
9, 18, 27, 36, 45, 54, 63, 72, 81, 90, 99, 108
The tens go up by one and the ones go down by one: 9, 18, 27, 36, 45, all the way to 90.
That is the 9 times table, and Menny is its dragon.
Count by 10s
10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120
Every number ends in 0, and the tens go up by one each hop.
That is the 10 times table, and Clid is its dragon.
Count by 11s
11, 22, 33, 44, 55, 66, 77, 88, 99, 110, 121, 132
Up to 99 you write the same digit twice: 11, 22, 33. After that come 110, 121 and 132.
That is the 11 times table, and Archie is its dragon.
Count by 12s
12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, 96, 108, 120, 132, 144
Each hop is a ten and a two: 12, 24, 36, 48, then 60. You land on every other number of the 6s.
That is the 12 times table. The 12s have no dragon. Yet.
Which first
Start with 10s, 5s and 2s
The 10s are the easiest to hear: every number ends in 0. The 5s come next, then the 2s. Schools teach them in that kind of order too.
England
Year 1: “count in multiples of 2s, 5s and 10s”. Year 2: “count in steps of 2, 3, and 5 from 0, and in 10s from any number, forward and backward”. Year 3: “count from 0 in multiples of 4, 8, 50 and 100”. Year 4: “count in multiples of 6, 7, 9, 25 and 1,000”.
United States
Grade 2, standard 2.NBT.A.2: “Count within 1000; skip-count by 5s, 10s, and 100s.”
Sources: National curriculum in England: mathematics programmes of study, GOV.UK, and Common Core State Standards, Grade 2, Number and Operations in Base Ten, both read on 8 October 2026.
The next step
From skip counting to the times tables
Count by 7s and stop at the fourth number you say: 7, 14, 21, 28. That is 4 × 7 = 28. The number of hops is how many sevens, and the number you land on is the answer.
So a child who can count by 7s can already find any fact of the 7 times table, just slowly. Knowing the facts by heart is the next step, and the multiplication chart is the same counts stacked in rows: its 7 row is counting by 7s.
Free, no sign-up
Skip counting chart and worksheets
The chart puts every count from 2s to 12s on one page. The mixed worksheet practices the 2s, 5s and 10s. Each number from 2 to 12 also has a hundred chart to color and a worksheet of its own, in its block above. Every sheet comes in US Letter and A4, with the answers on page 2 where there is something to fill in.
Skip counting chart, 2s to 12s
A row for each count from 2s to 12s, twelve numbers long, with a star on the ones to learn first. The ten dragons stand along the foot, each with its name.
1 page · PDF
Skip counting by 2s, 5s and 10s worksheet
Rows of 2s, 5s and 10s to fill in, then 10s from 13 and back from 97. The answers are on page 2.
2 pages · PDF
Free for home and classroom use. To pass them on, please share the link to this page and not the file.
No screen needed
Three skip counting games
Play them in the car, at the kitchen table or in the hall, with any number from 2 to 12.
Dragon!
Sit in a circle and count up from 1, one number each. Pick a number, say 3. On every number you land on when you count by 3s, say "Dragon!" instead of the number. Miss one and the count starts again from 1.
Whisper, whisper, SHOUT
Count from 1 out loud, but whisper the numbers in between and shout the ones you land on. For 4s that goes whisper 1, 2, 3, shout FOUR, whisper 5, 6, 7, shout EIGHT, so the numbers you shout are the 4s.
Hop the line
Chalk a number line on the pavement from 0 to 30, or tape one along the hall. Jump by 2s, then 3s, saying each number as you land. Then start at the far end and jump back.
Questions
Grown-ups ask
- What is skip counting?
- It is counting forward by the same number every time instead of by ones: 3, 6, 9, 12 is counting by 3s. The numbers you say are a times table in order, so it is how most children first meet multiplication. In the UK it is called counting in steps.
- How do you count by 5s?
- Start at 0 and add 5 each time: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, and on to 100. Every number ends in 5 or 0, taking turns. On a hundred chart, counting by 5s fills two whole columns, the 5s and the 10s. The 5s on this page.
- How do you count by 7s?
- 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, 56, 63, 70, 77, 84. Each number is 7 more than the one before. Look at the last digits up to 70: 7, 4, 1, 8, 5, 2, 9, 6, 3, 0. Every digit comes once. The 7s on this page.
- When do children learn skip counting?
- In England the national curriculum asks for it in Year 1: “count in multiples of 2s, 5s and 10s”. Year 2 adds “count in steps of 2, 3, and 5 from 0, and in 10s from any number, forward and backward”, Year 3 “count from 0 in multiples of 4, 8, 50 and 100” and Year 4 “count in multiples of 6, 7, 9, 25 and 1,000”. In the United States the Common Core standard 2.NBT.A.2 for Grade 2 says: “Count within 1000; skip-count by 5s, 10s, and 100s.” (Both read on 8 October 2026.)
- Is skip counting the same as multiplication?
- Not quite, but it leads straight to it. Counting by 7s, the fourth number is 28, which is 4 × 7. So a child who can count by 7s can work out any fact of the 7s by counting on, even before they know it by heart.
- How do you teach skip counting?
- Out loud first, with something to move: steps on the stairs, claps, jumps along a chalk line. Start with 10s, then 5s, then 2s. Then let the child see it on a hundred chart, where the 10s, 5s and 2s make straight columns. Last, count with the chart hidden, and backwards too.
- Can I print these for my class?
- Yes, as many copies as you need. The chart and the worksheets are free for home and classroom use and there is no sign-up. If another teacher wants them, please send the link to this page and not the file.
Our own book
Ten tables, ten dragons, one order
For grown-ups · out now on Amazon
Our times tables book teaches the tables from 2 to 11 in the order that leaves only 45 answers to learn. Each table gets its blackboard, its tricks and its dragon, and the book opens the second half of the cube game on this site.
Times Tables and DragonBuddies
Ages 7 to 10 · 30 pages · tables 2 to 11
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