Domino Addition/Subtraction: Turn dominoes sideways and they become math problems to solve! Add the two sides together or subtract the lesser amount from the greater amount. Have your kiddo practice writing addition and subtraction equations while they solve them. (Simply Kinder)

Make-Ten Card Game: Help your kiddo know all the pairs of numbers that add up to 10 using a deck of cards (with 10s and face cards removed.) Place the cards in a pile between all players. One at a time, take a card from the top of the pile and say the card number and what you need to make 10. (ex: I have 4, I need 6) If you cannot make a match place that card face up in the middle; this card is now in play. If you can make a match from the cards in play, you keep your pair of cards in front of you. The person at the end of the game with the most matches is the winner.

Doubles Facts with Dice: Doubles facts are when the two numbers you’re adding together are the same. (ex: 7 + 7) To play this game, have each player write the even numbers to 12 (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12) on a piece of paper. On their turn, each player rolls one dice and doubles the number they got. Then, the player crosses off the answer from their list. The first person to be able to cross off all their numbers is the winner. For more of a challenge/older kids, use a number cube labeled numbers 4 through 9 and write the even numbers 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18 for your list. 

Near Doubles Go Fish: Near Doubles facts should be learned after students have learned their doubles facts. Near doubles facts use a doubles fact to help them solve it quickly. For example, 7 + 8 is a near doubles fact and we use 7 + 7 to help solve it. Since 8 is one more than 7 and we know 7 + 7 = 14, 7 + 8 must be one more to equal 15. Watch this link to show how to turn the card game “Go Fish” into a fun way to practice near doubles facts.

Using Base-Ten Blocks or Pictures: Base-Ten blocks are tools students can use that represent our place value system. As whole numbers, these blocks represent ones, tens, and hundreds. Using them when adding or subtracting is a great way to help students understand what is happening. If you don’t have blocks at home, that’s okay! Students can draw a picture to model what they do with the blocks when solving problems.

Decimal Numbers: Students have always been taught to line up their numbers by the smallest place value of each number, but that thinking gets thrown out the window with decimals! Decimal numbers should always be lined up based on the decimal point. Remember, whole numbers do have a decimal point after the ones place!

Fractions and Mixed Numbers: When adding or subtracting fractions and mixed numbers, they need to have the same denominator. If the fractions have the same denominator, add/subtract the numerators and keep the denominator the same. (How many of the same size pieces do you have?) If the fractions have different denominators, find the Least Common Multiple (LCM) between them and change the fractions to have the same denominators. Once the ‘pieces’ are the same size, the fractions can be added or subtracted.

Integers: 6th grade starts working with pre-algebra topics and gets to work with negative numbers. Initially this can be a tough concept for kids to wrap their heads around, but with some support they’ll understand it. Using two-sided counters (or even coins) can help them understand what happens when you add/subtract a negative and a positive or two negative numbers. Here are some videos to explain how to use counters when adding and subtracting integers.