Which numbers can children count by?

2s, 3s, 5s and 10s, or Mixed for a different step on every row.

Do the patterns always start at zero?

No. They start at different multiples, so children have to find the step from the numbers they can see.

Why practise skip counting?

It is the start of multiplication: counting by 5s is the 5 times table.

Skip Counting Worksheets: Count by 2s, 3s, 5s and 10s

From counting to times tables

Skip counting builds the patterns children later need for multiplication and division. When it is fluent, move on to the multiplication worksheets.

In the MOE curriculum

Primary 1Patterns in number sequences start in P1, alongside numbers up to 100.
Primary 2Counting in tens and hundreds, and the multiplication tables of 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10.
Primary 3Counting in hundreds and thousands, with numbers up to 10 000.

Skip counting is how Singapore children first meet the P2 tables. Counting in 2s, 5s and 10s matches the first tables in the syllabus, and 3s leads into the table of 3, taught in the same year. The table of 4 is also in P2, so count in 4s aloud even though this maker does not print them.

Real coins make a good warm-up: count a row of 10-cent coins in tens or 5-cent coins in fives, then write each total in cents.

Summarised in our own words from the MOE Primary Mathematics Syllabus (Primary One to Six, 2021, updated October 2025).