Christmas Cookies Counting Tally Marks Worksheet

Tally marks are one of the first ways young mathematicians learn to keep track of a count, and this christmas cookies counting tally marks worksheet turns that skill into a festive holiday activity. Instead of holding every number in their head, children learn to make one quick mark for each object they see, bundle those marks into groups of five, and then read the groups back as a total. It is a simple idea, but it builds real number sense: counting one to one, seeing five as a unit, and connecting a picture to a written numeral.

This 1st grade christmas worksheet has two short parts. In Part A, children count rows of star, bell, ornament and mitten cookies, draw a tally mark on the line for every cookie, and write the total in the box. In Part B, the job flips around: each card already shows a set of tally marks, and children count the marks by fives and ones to write the number. Every count stays within twenty, which matches first grade counting and data goals. Use it as morning work, a math center, a quick check during the busy weeks before winter break, or a calm holiday activity at home.

What’s Included

• 1 print-ready PDF worksheet
• Answer key
• 4 cookie rows to count, tally and label with a number
• 3 tally mark cards to read and write as a number
• Counts from 6 to 18, all within twenty

Three reasons this christmas cookies counting tally marks worksheet helps kids grow. First, it slows counting down in a good way, because each cookie gets its own mark, so children stop skipping or double counting. Second, it introduces grouping by five, the same idea that later makes counting by fives, telling time and reading data tables feel natural. Third, it moves both directions, from pictures to tally marks and from tally marks to numbers, so children truly understand what the marks mean instead of copying a pattern.

Teachers and parents can stretch the fun by baking or cutting out paper cookies and asking children to tally them before a class party. Try a class vote on favorite holiday cookies and record the results with tally marks on the board. For extra practice with groups of five, sing along with the counting by fives song below.

Related Resources

• Baking Graphing Tally Marks Worksheet
• Christmas Bar Graph Worksheet
• Counting Fives Worksheet
• Counting By Fives Song (Original Music Video)