Addition and Subtraction Facts

Why it matters

Building flexibility and automaticity with number facts frees up the brain's working memory so it can tackle more complex tasks.

Activities

Spill the Beans

Materials Needed:

lima beans or paper circles colored on one side
cup
Spill the beans recording sheet (optional)

Recording Sheet

Directions:

Your child counts out a number of beans between 5 and ten and puts them in the cup
They shake the cup and spill the beans
They count the number of colored beans and the number of non-colored beans
Write a number sentence/equation

Bowling for Ten

Materials Needed:

10 objects that can serve as bowling pins (plastic water bottles, cups, toilet paper tubes)
A small mat showing where the pins should go
A soft ball large enough to knock over the "pins"
Bowling for Ten recording sheet (optional)

Recording Sheet

Directions:

Your child will set up the pins in their correct place on the mat.
Roll the ball and try to knock down some of the pins.
Color in the visual model on the recording sheet (or create your own) and write a number sentence
Set up the pins again and repeat.

Guess What's Missing

Materials Needed:

About 20 small objects (e.g. rocks, beans, beads)
At least two players

Directions:

Decide how many objects you will start with and count them out
- PreK-Kinder use a number between 5 and 10
- 1st-2nd use a number between 7 and 20
One player closes their eyes while the other player hides some of the objects behind their back
The first player opens their eyes and guesses how many objects are hidden based on the number that remains

Addition War

Materials Needed:

Playing cards
2 players
(can also be played solo as a variation)

Note: This game could also be played with dice. The players would tally the number of times they said the sum first. After ten rounds, the player with the most tallies wins.

Directions:

Game plays like regular war. However, instead of comparing which number is larger the two players must find the sum of the two cards.
(Face cards all count as 10 and the Ace is 1).
The first player to correctly state the sum, takes the cards. The player with the most cards at the ends wins.

Solo mode: The child would get to keep the cards if they correctly get the sum. Otherwise they go in a separate pile. Their goal is to get more cards than the extra pile or to increase the number of cards they get each time.

Variation:

Play the game as multiplication war by finding the product instead of the sum.

Make 10 Go Fish

Materials Needed:

Playing cards with kings and queens removed

Directions:

Played like regular Go Fish, but instead of asking for a match, you ask for the number needed to make ten.
For example: If I have 7, I would ask for a 3.
Jacks count as zero and would match with 10.

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