Free Christmas math worksheets

How to use these worksheets

Print at 100% on A4 or US Letter. Print page 1 only for children and keep page 2 for marking. The sheets run roughly from kindergarten (counting, color by number, patterns) to second grade (odd and even, facts to 20, how many more), so pick the three or four that match your class rather than handing out all eight.

• Christmas counting. Ask children to touch each picture as they count, then check by counting the row of five and adding the rest. Early finishers can write the number word underneath.
• Tree color by number. Have children color the 4s first (the star), then the 5s (the ornaments), then the 2s, and the tree appears before the sky is filled in. Pencils or crayons, not markers, so the numbers stay readable while they work.
• Picture addition. The three boxes force children to record both parts and the whole. Ask them to say the sentence aloud: four trees and two trees make six trees.
• Ornament ten frames. Pair this sheet with real counters on a laminated ten frame. Counting the empty boxes is the strategy; children who do this reliably have learned their bonds to 10.
• Odd and even ornaments. Remind children that only the ones digit matters: 26 is even because 6 is even. Coloring before sorting gives a visual check, since each box should be all red or all green.
• Jingle facts to 20. Time it (four minutes is fair for second grade) or use it as a partner check: one child reads the fact, the other answers, both write.
• How many more. Show children how to draw a line from each picture in the top row to one in the bottom row; the pictures left over are the answer. That matching strategy is the whole point of the sheet.
• Christmas patterns. Clap or say the pattern ("star, stocking, star, stocking") before drawing. Children who can name the core unit (AB, ABC) can extend any pattern.

Making it a Christmas math lesson

• Station rotation. Eight sheets make eight stations. Put the counting and ten frame sheets on a table with counters, the color by number and patterns with crayons, and the facts sheet with a timer.
• Pair with coloring. After the math, hand out the Christmas coloring pages so children who finish early have something quiet to do.
• Estimation warm-up. Before the counting sheet, show a box of pictures for three seconds and ask children to estimate, then count to check.
• Class tree. Cut out the finished color by number trees and put them up as a paper forest; count the trees, the stars and the ornaments as a class.

Common issues to watch for

• Skipping or double counting on the counting sheet. Rows of five help; so does crossing off each picture with a pencil.
• Writing 10 instead of 0 in the "make 10" box when the frame is full. Talk about what a full frame means before starting.
• Adding when the sign says subtract on the facts sheet. Circle the minus signs in red before starting if this is a habit.
• Answering "how many" instead of "how many more" on the comparison sheet. Children often write the larger count; the matching-lines strategy above fixes this.