Measure With Blocks

Print the page and read the directions with your child: Count how many blocks long each object is. Circle the number that tells how many blocks, then trace it. When they finish, check the work together with the answer key.

Five objects, such as a pencil, a paintbrush and a bolt, each lying above a row of colored blocks. Children count how many blocks long each object is, circle the number from three choices and trace it. The directions on the page read: Count how many blocks long each object is. Circle the number that tells how many blocks, then trace it. An answer key is included.

Yes, both. We made it for Kindergarten measurement, and the page works the same whether it lands on a kitchen table or a center rotation. At home, most families go through it together and talk the answers out loud, and that talking is where most of the learning happens with non standard units. In class it runs well as independent work while you pull a small group. Print one copy or thirty, whichever the day needs.

Non-standard units are informal measuring objects like cubes, paper clips, or crayons used in place of inches or centimeters. Kindergarteners use them because they make the concept of measurement concrete and understandable before children are ready to work with numbered scales and formal units.

Non-standard measurement is a core part of the kindergarten math curriculum, typically taught at ages 5-6. It appears in CCSS K.MD.A.2, which asks students to directly compare two objects with a measurable attribute and describe the difference.

Place a row of pennies, paperclips, or small crackers end-to-end along a book or toy and count how many it takes to span the length. Ask your child to compare two objects - 'Which is longer? How many blocks long is each one?' - to build both measurement and comparison skills.

Yes. CCSS K.MD.A.1 asks kindergarteners to describe measurable attributes such as length, and K.MD.A.2 asks them to directly compare two objects with a measurable attribute in common. Non-standard unit activities are the primary hands-on method used to meet these standards.

Preschoolers should explore measurement through direct comparison and non-standard units. They can compare the length of two objects by placing them side by side, determine which container holds more water, and describe objects as heavy or light. At this age, measurement is about building vocabulary (long, short, tall, heavy, light, full, empty) and developing an awareness that attributes like length and weight can be quantified. Children do not need standard units like inches or centimeters yet. Instead, they measure using blocks, hand spans, or footsteps. Worksheets that show two objects and ask which is longer, taller, or heavier build the visual comparison skills that prepare students for formal measurement in kindergarten and first grade.

Make measurement part of daily life. Ask your child to find something longer than their shoe, stack blocks and count how tall the tower is, or compare how heavy two stuffed animals feel. Use non-standard units first: "This table is 8 hand-spans long." This teaches the process of measuring (choosing a unit, placing it end to end, counting) without the complexity of reading a ruler. Filling and pouring with containers teaches volume. Worksheets that show objects next to a row of counting units help children practice measuring on paper. The key principle is that every measurement is a comparison to a chosen unit. Keep activities playful and exploratory, letting the child discover rather than drilling procedures.

Non-standard measurement (using blocks, paper clips, or hand spans) teaches children the concept of measurement without the added complexity of reading scales and rulers. Children first need to understand that measurement means comparing an attribute to a unit and counting how many units fit. Once this concept is solid, transitioning to standard units like inches and centimeters makes sense. Research shows that children who skip non-standard measurement and jump directly to rulers often struggle with understanding what the numbers on a ruler mean. kindergarten worksheets that use non-standard units build the foundational understanding that a measurement is a count of equal-sized units placed end to end.