What is on this worksheet
Every row on this sheet shows a handful of US coins with their values printed on them, and the total is worked out from the coins actually drawn. Counting money is where a child first meets the idea that a small object can be worth more than a bigger one: a dime is smaller than a nickel and worth twice as much. Coins are ordered largest value first in every row, because counting on from the biggest is the method that survives contact with a real till.
How to use it
Print the sheet and write the total for each row of coins on the line beside it. The coins are drawn largest first, which is the order they should be counted in.
Three ways to practice
Count on, do not add up
Start at the value of the largest coin and count on from there rather than adding pairs. Twenty five, then thirty five, then forty. It is one running total instead of several sums to hold in mind.
Use real coins alongside
Set out actual coins to match a row before writing the answer. Handling money while counting it joins the number on the page to the thing in a pocket, which the drawing alone cannot do.
Make the same total two ways
Pick a row, then ask for a different set of coins worth the same amount. Forty cents is a quarter, a dime and a nickel, or four dimes. Seeing both is the point of the exercise.
A tip worth knowing
Teach the habit of starting with the biggest coin and counting on. Twenty five, thirty five, forty, forty one is far more reliable than adding the coins in the order they happen to be seen.
Printing this sheet
Frequently asked questions
Which coins are on this sheet?
Quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies, the four US coins children meet first. Half dollars and dollar coins are left out because most children rarely handle one.
Why is the answer written in dollars and cents?
Because that is how prices are written everywhere a child will see them. Writing forty cents as a decimal amount early makes the jump to reading a price tag much smaller.
My child confuses the dime and the nickel. What helps?
It is the most common mix up and it is because size and value disagree. Real coins in hand help more than pictures: let them feel the ridged edge of a dime against the smooth edge of a nickel.