Free educational resources for building number sense are available through various online platforms and educator marketplaces. These materials are designed to support early math instruction by providing printable activities, worksheets, and game ideas for students in pre-kindergarten through first grade. The resources focus on foundational skills such as number identification, counting, subitizing, missing numbers, and basic operations. Many of these freebies are themed for seasonal use, such as Halloween or Thanksgiving, and are intended for use in classroom centers, morning work, or at-home practice.
Several sources offer free number sense flashcards that can be printed on cardstock or index paper. These flashcards are designed to help students become more fluent in number identification, missing numbers, quantity discrimination, and next number math skills. Some flashcards are intended to be printed with answers on the back. They can be used to prepare for tests like DIBELS or for RTI and intervention groups. One suggested activity involves hanging number task cards by a classroom door for students to engage with while lining up for recess or lunch.
Free printable worksheets are also widely available. These include full-page, color-by-code worksheets with holiday themes (Halloween, Thanksgiving) that combine number matching with color identification and sight word practice. Other worksheet packets cover tracing and writing numbers 1-20, counting, missing numbers, teen numbers, and ordering numbers. Some resources include subitizing practice worksheets for recognizing numbers 0-10. Specific free downloads include sample pages from "Daily NumberSense" units, which feature place value and number sense worksheets that increase in difficulty each month. These are suitable for bellwork, math lessons, small groups, distance learning, or homework. Another free sample includes 10 pages from a counting worksheet packet; the complete packet contains 29 counting worksheets, 21 number sense to 20 worksheets, and assessment task cards.
In addition to flashcards and worksheets, some educators provide free letters and guides for parents to help them understand fact fluency and practice math skills at home. These guides often include ideas for games and activities that families can play to reinforce number sense. A math fact log is sometimes included for students who need extra practice at home.
Themed hands-on activities are also offered as freebies. For example, a Halloween-themed "Monster Counting" activity involves choosing a monster card and adding the correct number of eyeballs (using googly eyes or mini-erasers) to the monster. A winter counting center activity is also available. These activities can be adjusted for difficulty based on the manipulatives used.