Math Skills BrushUp with Kids Academy: Transitioning from Grade 1 to Grade 2
July 26, 2025
The transition from 1st to 2nd grade is another big step in a child’s education journey. During this time period children begin moving past simple number recognition and addition to more complex problem solving, place value, and deeper reasoning. Practicing key math skills over the summer can help students feel confident and ready to engage when school starts. Making the school easier on everyone.
Below are the most essential math skills that are aimed at supporting the transition into 2nd grade alongside engaging resources from Kids Academy and hands-on practice ideas you can use at home to keep learning active, fun, and stress free.
REVIEWING 1ST GRADE MATH SKILLS
1. Adding and Subtracting Within 100
What it is: Solving problems with two digit numbers using strategies like counting on, number lines, and place value.
Why it matters: I have seen students who mastered two-digit addition and subtraction in 1st grade had an easier time transitioning into 3 digit regrouping in 2nd grade. Their number sense gave them a head start when others were still counting on their fingers. In 2nd grade, students begin working with 3 digit numbers and are expected to regroup confidently. If they haven’t built fluency with adding or subtracting within 100, they’ll struggle with accuracy and speed when problems become more complex.If students are still counting fingers or struggling to recognize number relationships, they’ll have a hard time keeping up.
Try These:
- Lesson: Adding with Base Ten Blocks
- Quizzes: Addition and Subtraction Within 100 with Base Ten Blocks
- Additional practice: Check out this catalog for more adding and subtracting within 100.
Off-Screen Fun: Grab some LEGO bricks or any simple item like coins or snack pieces for small math challenges.Have your child count out a certain number of blocks and have them “spend” or “give away” a certain number to see how many are left. In the classroom I played “ Build It and Break It” where my students would build a number with their snacks and break it down using subtraction stories. They loved using the snacks for math and eating it at the end was always a plus.
2. Understanding Place Value
What it is: Recognizing that a number with two digits is made up of tens and ones, and being able to break apart and combine numbers easily.
Why it matters: Place value helps students understand why math is the way it is. This skill is very important for regrouping, estimating, and comparing numbers. When I asked a student struggling with “62 – 49” to model the numbers with base ten blocks, she finally understood regrouping by seeing she couldn’t subtract 9 ones from 2 ones.
Try These:
- Worksheet: Transportation Math
- Video: Practice Place Value
- Additional practice: Check out this catalog of more place value activities.
Off-Screen Fun: Place value can be turned into a fun building game using straws, toothpicks, or craft sticks. Make groups of ten and then add extras to make numbers 46 or 72. I used to set up a “Place Value Store” in the classroom where students had to buy a certain number using tens and ones. Students who practiced this at home had a better understanding that 64 isn’t just sixty-four, it is 6 tens and 4 ones.
3. Skip Counting by 2’s, 5s, and 10s
What it is: Counting forward or backwards by groups, such as 2, 4, 6… or 10, 20, 30…
Why it matters: Skip counting is the foundation for multiplication and is a skill that is used in time, money, and pattern recognition. I remember one student who couldn’t tell time because she hadn’t mastered counting by 5s. We practiced daily with songs and games, and those who practiced at home already came in fluent and ready to learn multiplication.
Try These:
- Worksheet: Rocket Math
- Quiz: Skip Count By 5s and 10
- Additional practice: Check out this lesson for more skip counting fun.
Off-Screen Fun: Including movement in practice helps children remember better. Clap by 5s while walking, or hop by 2s across the room, or skip count by 10s while jumping rope outside. In my classroom, I would tape the number to the floor and have the students hop along in a pattern, sometimes even as frogs or robots.
4. Solving Word Problems
What it is: Using math operations to solve short stories or real world scenarios.
Why it matters: Word problems require reading comprehension and math reasoning. Acting out problems helped students connect math to real life.When students acted out problems using toys or drawings, I saw better comprehension and more accurate answers.
Try These:
- Lesson: Draw It Out
- Quiz: Solve Tricky Equations
- Additional practice: Check out this catalog of many more word problems activities.
Off-Screen Fun: Use toys or snacks to act out problems: “You had 10 crackers and gave 3 away. How many now?” I’d have students create their own story problems with cubes or counters. This made math feel like storytelling and helped those that were more reluctant be more engaged learners. .
PREVIEWING 2nd GRADE MATH SKILLS
If your child is feeling confident with the first grade review, it’s a great time to introduce some of the math skills they’ll see in 2nd grade. The following skills are a preview of what your child will see, the more practice the better.
5. Adding and Subtracting Within 1,000
What it is: Solving problems with three digit numbers using place value strategies and regrouping.
Why it matters: Students work with numbers up to 1,000 in 2nd grade and begin learning regrouping.You can start by giving your child 3 digit numbers and having them add or subtract without regrouping. Use base ten blocks or draw place value charts to help visualize their thinking. I used to introduce this skill by building numbers with base ten blocks and letting students trade tens for ones or hundreds for tens.
Try These:
- Lesson: Add within 1,000
- Worksheet: Presidential Maze: Addition and Subtraction
- Additional practice: Check out this catalog of more addition and subtraction activities for grade 2.
Off-Screen Fun: Use objects like Legos, coins, or sticky notes to build three digit numbers and act out addition or subtraction problems. For example, show 243 using two hundreds, four tens, and three ones, then “add” 120 by trading and combining pieces. In the classroom, I often used base ten blocks and would tell stories like “A delivery truck brings 100 more blocks to the store,how many are there now?” Keeps it fun and engaging off screen.
TIPS TO MAKE SUMMER MATH COUNT
- Making mistakes is part of the process: Remind your child that it’s okay to get things wrong, and that what matters is trying again. I used to tell my students, “Mistakes mean you are trying!”
- Talk through their thinking: Help your child think out loud and ask questions like “How did you solve that?” or “Can you think of another way to find the answer?” Talking through their steps helps them have a deeper understanding.
- Build on what they know: Start with the easy concepts first , then slowly add in more complex skills. Confidence grows when children feel like they’re building from something that they already know.
EXPLORE MORE
Explore full categories for more math practice:
CONCLUSION
All of the above skills are the ones that I consistently revisited during the first weeks of 2nd grade. When the students come in with these skills already in place, the difference is very clear to me. They are more prepared to engage with new concepts and less likely to feel overwhelmed when challenges arise throughout the school year.
Keeping math skills fun, engaging and active throughout the summer helps your child builds speed for the upcoming school year. Having worked with many students myself transitioning into 2nd grade, I’ve seen firsthand how those who maintain their math practice return more confident and prepared to tackle new challenges with excitement.
