Kindergarten Christmas Worksheets: What to Practice in December (Math and Literacy)

What kindergarteners typically work on in December

By the middle of the school year, many US kindergarten classes are working on these skills. Worksheets are most useful when they review what the child is already learning, not when they jump ahead.

Area	Skill	Related Common Core standard
Phonics	Beginning sounds, short-vowel CVC words (c-a-t)	RF.K.2, RF.K.3
Reading	High-frequency sight words such as the, see, I, a, can	RF.K.3.c
Writing	Simple sentences with a capital letter and a period	L.K.2
Counting	Count to answer “how many?” up to 20	K.CC.B.5
Numbers	Write numbers 0–20; teen numbers as ten and some ones	K.CC.A.3, K.NBT.A.1
Operations	Add within 10 with pictures or a number line	K.OA.A.2

Preschoolers (ages 3–4) usually focus on earlier steps: recognizing and tracing letters, matching uppercase and lowercase, counting objects to 10, simple AB patterns, shapes and cutting along lines.

12 Christmas worksheet ideas by skill

Literacy

1. Letter tracing with Christmas words: T for tree, S for star, B for bell, G for gift. Show the starting point with a green dot.
2. Uppercase and lowercase matching: draw a line from each big letter to its small letter.
3. Beginning sounds: say the picture name and circle (PreK) or write (K) the first letter.
4. Missing vowel CVC words: h_t, b_g, c_p with a picture clue.
5. Sight word hunt: color every ornament with the word “the.”
6. “I can write” sentences: trace and copy “I see a tree.”

Math

7. Count and circle: count the presents and circle the number.
8. Ten frames: one full frame is 10; count the extra dots to make 11–20.
9. Missing numbers 1–20 on a row of ornaments.
10. Picture addition: 3 cookies + 2 cookies = ?
11. Patterns: AB for preschool; AAB, ABB, ABC and AABB for kindergarten.
12. Measure with cubes: how many cubes long is the candy cane?

How to use worksheets well

• One or two pages at a time. Five-year-olds do their best work in short bursts. Stop before frustration starts.
• Make it hands-on. Use real objects to count before writing the number, or build the pattern with blocks first.
• Say it out loud. Have your child say the sounds or count aloud while they work.
• Reuse pages. Slide a page into a sheet protector and use a dry-erase marker so it can be done again.
• Praise the effort, not just the right answer: “You started your T at the top, just like the green dot!”
• Cutting pages: use child-safe scissors with an adult nearby.

For teachers: low-prep December centers

1. Morning work: one review page (missing numbers, sight word trace) as children arrive.
2. Literacy center: CVC read-and-match with picture cards.
3. Math center: ten frames with mini erasers or pom-poms as counters.
4. Fine motor center: cutting practice and mazes.
5. Early finishers: a shape tree to count sides and color.

Keep an answer key at the teacher table and a “Name” line on every page so pages can go home in folders.

Why separate PreK and K levels matter

A three-year-old and a six-year-old need very different pages. Mixing them leads to either boredom or tears. Look for worksheets that are clearly labeled by level, with big pictures, plenty of white space and print-style letters (ball-and-stick, single-story “a” and “g”) like the ones taught in US classrooms.

Our Christmas worksheets for PreK and K

Our Christmas Worksheets for Preschool + Kindergarten (43 pages) have two clearly marked levels: PRESCHOOL (ages 3–4) and KINDERGARTEN (ages 5–6). They cover letter tracing (Tt, Ss, Bb, Gg), Christmas word tracing, letter matching, beginning sounds, CVC words, the sight words the, see, I, a, can and red, sentence tracing, counting to 20, ten frames, number tracing 1–20, missing numbers, picture addition and adding within 10, patterns, measuring with cubes, shapes, cutting practice and mazes. Most kindergarten pages note the matching Common Core standard, and there is a 2-page answer key. Try the free 3-page sample first.