Dot-to-dot generator
An outline turned into numbered dots, for the hand that is still learning to count.
Print this one
One PDF: the sheet on the first page, the answer key on the second.
One PDF: the sheet, and the answer key on the page after it.
How it works
A picture is turned into a numbered dot-to-dot by keeping the corners and dropping the straight bits, so it stays recognisable even at twenty dots. The count is the only thing that changes between a page for a four-year-old and one for a nine-year-old.
- 1Pick a picture and how many dots it should have.
- 2The dots are placed where the outline turns, and numbered along the way round.
- 3Download the sheet, with the finished drawing on the page after it.
Dot-to-dot generator
How many dots should I choose?
Twenty or so for a child who is still learning to count, fifty for one who is confident, a hundred or more when joining the dots is the point rather than the counting.
Why do the numbers sit at odd angles?
Each number is pushed outwards, away from the line, so a pencil following the outline never covers it. Where two would overlap, one is moved further out.
What if the picture has separate parts?
The numbering runs straight through them. The pencil lifts once, and the count does not restart.