Before and after numbers teach your child that numbers live in a fixed order, like beads on a string. On this page your child sees a short row such as 7, 8, ? or ?, 13, 14, hears "Which number comes after?" or "Which number comes before?", and taps the missing number. It builds on counting and leads straight into adding and taking away.
What is before and after in numbers?
The number before a given number is one less: before 8 comes 7. The number after is one more: after 8 comes 9. The number between two numbers sits in the middle: between 7 and 9 comes 8. That is the whole definition, and young children understand it best as "just before" and "just after" when counting.
| Before | Number | After | In words |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 5 | 6 | Four comes before five; six comes after five |
| 9 | 10 | 11 | After ten comes eleven, the start of the teens |
| 18 | 19 | 20 | After nineteen comes twenty, a new ten |
| 29 | 30 | 31 | Before thirty comes twenty-nine |
| 49 | 50 | 51 | After fifty comes fifty-one |
In Hindi, "before" is पहले (pehle) and "after" is बाद में (baad mein). The game asks पहले कौन सी संख्या आती है? or बाद में कौन सी संख्या आती है? when Hindi is chosen with the अ+A button.
The right age for this skill
Children can only find the number after 8 once they can count to 8 and beyond without help, so this comes after counting. A rough guide:
- Ages 2-3: too early. Should a 2 year old be able to count to 10? No, and they do not need number order yet. Count toys together instead.
- Ages 3-4 (nursery, pre-school): "What comes after 3?" out loud, within 1 to 10, while counting stairs.
- Ages 4-5 (LKG, kindergarten): numbers 1 to 20 on the game's default setting.
- Ages 5-6 (UKG, class 1, grade 1): up to 50 in the game, and 1 to 100 on the printed chart. "Count on from any number" is an official target at this age.
The "before" question is harder than "after" for most children, because they have to count backwards in their head. Expect more pauses on "before" and give extra time.
How the game works
- A row of three boxes appears, with one box showing a ?.
- The page asks the question and says the middle number aloud. Press 🔊 to hear it again.
- Your child taps one of the big number cards. Each card also shows the number word.
- The right card fills the gap and is said in Hindi and English. A different number is simply named, with a nudge to count again; the game never says "wrong".
- After a few rounds, a marble rolls into the Goli Jar.
In Settings (behind a grown-up check) set your child's age. At 5-6 the numbers go up to 50; at younger ages they stay within 20, and the youngest band sees only two answer cards.
How to teach before and after numbers at home
The easiest way to explain it is with your body and a line. Stand children in a line, or put toys in a row, and give each a number. "Who is just before Teddy? Who is just after?" Then try these five-minute ideas:
- Stair game. Stand on step 5. "Which step comes after? Jump!" "Which step was before?"
- Number walk. Chalk 1 to 20 on the floor. Call a number, your child hops to it, then to the number after.
- Calendar talk. "Today is the 12th. What date is tomorrow? What was yesterday?"
- Lift and bus numbers. In a lift, ask which floor comes next. On the road, read house numbers.
- Hide a card. Lay out number cards 1 to 10, turn one over and ask which is hiding.
Hands-on activities and TLM for teachers
Teachers often need a simple working model or TLM (teaching learning material). A cheap one: a long strip of card numbered 1 to 20, with a small window cut in another card that slides along it and shows three numbers at a time. Cover the left or right number with a flap. A clothes-line with pegged number cards is another favourite: take one card off and ask what is missing. For a cut and paste activity, give children strips with gaps and loose numbers to stick in. These hands-on activities work for LKG, UKG and class 1, and they make a good class project.
Worksheet and chart ideas
There is no PDF to download, but you can make a before and after numbers worksheet in minutes. Draw rows like "__ 6 __", "14 __ 16" and "__ 20 __", and let your child fill the blanks. Start with 1 to 10, then 1 to 20, then 1 to 50. The full 1-100 chart on our counting 1 to 100 page prints from your browser and makes a ready chart to check answers.
Learning objective for a lesson plan: "The child can name the number just before, just after and between any two numbers up to 20, and explain how they know by counting on or back."
A simple plan by class
| Class | Range | What to practise |
|---|---|---|
| Preschool and nursery | 1 to 10 | Say before and after numbers 1 to 10 out loud while counting toys |
| LKG / KG | 1 to 20 | Before and after numbers for LKG: play the game at the 4-5 setting and use a number line |
| UKG | 1 to 50 | Before and after numbers for UKG: written rows with blanks, then the game at the 5-6 setting |
| Class 1 / grade 1 | 1 to 100 | Before and after numbers for class 1 include between numbers and the 1-100 chart |
| Class 2 / grade 2 | Up to 999 | Before and after numbers for class 2 move to three-digit numbers, such as 399 and 400 |
A before and after numbers worksheet for kindergarten should have big print and only five or six rows. A worksheet 1 to 20 for LKG can have ten. Keep a few examples with answers at the top so your child can see what to do.
Many parents search for a video for kids or a song for this topic. A counting song works fine, but the interactive game here asks your child to think and answer, which a video cannot. Try a quick online game round, then a hands-on activity, and you have a complete lesson.
Good questions to ask: "What comes after 29?", "What is the number just before 40?", "Which number is between 17 and 19?" Let your child explain the answer; explaining is a learning outcome in itself.
Before, after and between numbers
Once before and after feel easy, ask "What comes between 15 and 17?" This is the same skill with both sides visible. Between-number questions are common in class 1 and class 2 worksheets, and in Hindi they are बीच की संख्या (beech ki sankhya).
When your child finds it hard
If your child guesses, go back to counting out loud: "Let's count. 11, 12, 13… what comes next?" Counting on from the given number is the real strategy, so model it rather than giving the answer. The teens and the jump from 19 to 20 (or 29 to 30) are where most children stumble; practise those on the chart.
Praise the thinking ("You counted back, clever!"). For a child with a speech delay, pointing is enough. Autistic children often like number order because it is predictable; keep turns short and use calm sound. Bilingual children may know the order in one language only, which is fine. If you are worried, talk to your paediatrician.
Screen time: play together for a few minutes, then carry on with stairs and number cards. Under-2s are better off with a grown-up and real objects than a screen.
What next? Try addition with pictures (adding one is "the number after"), Hindi ginti, patterns or the counting 1 to 10 game.
