# Skip Counting by 2s, 5s and 10s

- Link: https://thecuriosi.com/lessons/skip-counting-2s-5s-10s/
- Published: 2026-10-31T14:54:47+05:30
- Author: MAHENDRA MANCHIKALAPATI

1. [Courses](https://thecuriosi.com/courses/)
 2. [Counting and Numbers to 100](https://thecuriosi.com/courses/counting-to-100-for-kids/)
 3.  Lesson 6 of 8

What if you need to count 30 socks? Counting one by one takes ages. There is a faster
way: **skip counting**. When you skip count, you jump over some numbers. Today you
will skip count by 2s, 5s and 10s.

## Counting by 2s

Socks, shoes and eyes come in **pairs**. A pair is 2. Count by 2s:

2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20

### Example

Lucy has 6 pairs of socks. She counts by 2s: “2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12.” She has **12**
socks.

> Tip: Whisper the number you skip and say the next one loudly: (1) **2**, (3) **
> 4**, (5) **6**.

## Counting by 5s

Each hand has **5** fingers. Count hands by 5s:

5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50

### Notice the pattern

When you count by 5s, the numbers always end in **5** or **0**. 5, 10, 15, 20… This
pattern keeps going all the way to 100!

## Counting by 10s

You already know this one! Counting by 10s:

10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100

On the hundred chart, counting by 10s means going **straight down** the last column.

## Which way is fastest?

  |  Count |  Use it for |  Example |  
   |  by 2s |  pairs |  shoes, eyes, socks |  
 |  by 5s |  groups of five |  fingers on hands, tally marks |  
 |  by 10s |  groups of ten |  toes on two feet, tens towers |

### Tally marks

**Tally marks** are a quick way to keep score. Draw four lines, then cross them 
with a fifth line to make a bundle of 5. Then you can count the bundles by 5s!

## Key takeaways

 * Skip counting is faster than counting by ones.
 * Count pairs by 2s: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10.
 * Counting by 5s gives numbers ending in 5 or 0.
 * Counting by 10s goes down the hundred chart.

## Practice

 1. Count by 2s from 2 to 20.
 2. Count by 5s: how many fingers are on 4 hands?
 3. Count by 10s: how many toes are on 6 children?

Answers: 1 is 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20. 2 is 20 fingers (5, 10, 15, 20).
3 is 60 toes (10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60).

 [Log in](https://thecuriosi.com/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fthecuriosi.com%2Flessons%2Fskip-counting-2s-5s-10s%2F)
to mark lessons complete and track your progress.

 [ Previous lesson Counting All the Way to 100 ](https://thecuriosi.com/lessons/counting-to-100/)
[ Next lesson More, Less and Equal ](https://thecuriosi.com/lessons/more-less-equal/)

 [Back to course overview](https://thecuriosi.com/courses/counting-to-100-for-kids/)

Share this