Counting backwards worksheet
Each row starts counting down and then stops. The child keeps the countdown going, writing the next numbers in the empty boxes. Pick your range, then print. Free, no account, no ads.
Range
Within 10 is the place to start. Within 20 adds the teen numbers and counting back through 10.
Orientation
Counting Backwards
Keep counting back and write the numbers that come next.
Quick Math Sheets
How it works
Each row shows three numbers counting down, one less each time, and then three empty boxes. The child says the numbers out loud, hears the countdown, and keeps it going, writing each next number in a box. Nothing to the right of the boxes gives the answer away, so every number is the child's own counting.
Why counting backwards gets its own sheet
Counting back is a separately learned skill, not just counting forward in reverse. Missing numbers gives a row to read, and before and after numbers asks for one step from a single number. This sheet asks for more: the row starts counting down and then stops, and the child has to keep it going from memory, each number one less than the last one they wrote. That sustained counting back is the stepping stone to subtraction, where taking away one at a time is exactly this skill.
Where it fits
Do missing numbers and before and after numbers first, since reading a row and recalling one neighbour come before generating a whole run. The printable hundreds chart is the reference a child can check when they get stuck. The kindergarten and grade 1 pages gather the resources for this age, and when written arithmetic is the right level you can make a worksheet in seconds.
A simple routine