Play “Mystery Number”! Create a math story with an unknown part for your child to solve. For example, “Nine bears were playing tag at noon. Before noon, only six bears were playing. How many bears joined in at noon?” Encourage your child to draw a picture and/or a number bond to illustrate what is happening in the story and to help find the unknown number; for example, 6 + __ = 9.
Be a math storyteller! With your child, create number sentence cards with basic addition facts up to 10, such as 3 + 5 = 8, 6 = 2 + 4, and so on. Then play a math story game. Partner A picks a number sentence card and tells a story to match it. Partner B draws a math picture to show what is happening in the story and solves the problem. For an extra challenge, cover either the total or the second addend of the number sentence with a sticky note before creating the story and solving the problem.