Practice skip counting with the children. Kindergarteners should all be able to count to 100 before you attempt to try skip counting. Write numbers on a whiteboard or a chalkboard, one to 100. Show children that just as we count by ones, we can also count by twos, fives and tens. Point to the numbers as you count by twos, fives and tens and encourage children to join in. When students are able to count by twos, fives and tens on their own with ease, you can begin introducing the concept of place value.
Scatter aquarium gravel, or shiny decorative rocks on a table. It is best to use the smooth rocks that children will be able to hold in their hand, count and manipulate easily. Show children that it would be very difficult to count all of the gravel on the table by ones, but by grouping the rocks into piles of ten, they can count it a bit faster. Have children gather the rocks into groups of ten, leaving any extra rocks in a group by themselves. Once the rocks are separated, show children how to count the groups by ten, and then count the small group by ones. Write the number of rocks the children counted on the chalkboard or whiteboard. Point out that the number of groups of ten the children counted will go in the tens place when writing the number, and the number of ones they counted will go in the ones place.
Write several two- and three-digit numbers on index cards using colorful markers. Gather a large assortment of red, white and blue poker chips. On all of the red poker chips, write the number 100 using a permanent marker. On the blue chips, write the number 10. On the white chips, write the number one. Shuffle the index cards and ask children to draw one card from the deck. The child will use the poker chips to create the number on her card. For example, if she draws a card with the number 452, she will create that number using four red chips, five blue chips and two white chips. This is a game that is suitable for small groups of children. Or, it can be placed in your classroom and used as an independent game for children as they begin to be more confident in learning place value or able to correctly form the numbers without a lot of adult help.