Fun ways to practice Addition and Subtraction
- Vasudha Uddavan
- Mar 2, 2021
- 5 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
We've all learned to add and subtract. We've done worksheet after worksheet to practice it.
Do your kids whine when they see these worksheets?
A lot of my students do. While these are absolutely necessary, the kids can get bored with them in no time. Are there any alternate ways to practice our basic arithmetic skills? Anything more interesting than plain old worksheets? Let's explore some fun Addition worksheets and other methods.
Worksheet from: MathAids.com
Practice Addition through Skip Counting:
This is how we (my husband and I) started with our kid. We started playing skip counting with him when he was just 2 years old. He had no idea that he was learning something. He just thought we were playing with him. Till now, he still thinks we play math with him :)
How do you start?
Start with 10's. It's the easiest, and they'll be able to see the pattern real quick. This also gives them an outline of numbers. They'll be able to get to larger numbers faster and learn how the number line goes.
Then move to 5's. They'll be able to recognise the pattern pretty quickly here too.
Then move to 2's. Here, they'll see that you are skipping one number in between. This also serves as an exercise for learning about even and odd numbers. If you can get the number by counting by 2's (starting from 2) - it's an even number!
So far, they should be able to do it really easily. Once they've mastered these, you can move on to 3's, 4's and so on. To make this more interactive, my kid and I would take turns - he would tell a number, and then me and then him and so on.
You can also incorporate skip counting through activities. For example, I would award my kid points for eating his dinner without spilling. For every mouthful he took (without spilling) he gets 3 points. So not only did he learn to add, but this also formed his multiplication tables basics. You can also do this while playing physical games. Games like count by 3 for every hop.
Magic Squares:
3x3 Magic squares should be good to practice addition, along with a tiny bit of logic, too. Kids love anything with the word magic in it. Mine loved these :)
Rule: Every row, column and diagonal should have the same sum.
So the kids have to figure out what the sum is first and then fill out the entire square in the correct sequence.
Click below to download a Free 3x3 Magic Square PDF.
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Magic Addition Pyramids:
The number in the upper box should be equal to the sum of the two boxes right below it.
This can even be extended to fraction addition/ subtraction and multiplication/ division. For older kids, try it with integers and Algebraic expressions too!
Click here to download a free Addition Pyramid to start off.
For a more challenging version of Magic Pyramids, give the kids a 3-4 numbers that come in the bottom-most row and ask them what the highest number is that they can get at the top of the Pyramid. Idea by nrich maths - https://nrich.maths.org/numberpyramids
Magic Triangles:
Similar to the ones above, but in triangles. Each of the sides has to add to 100 here. You can also make up your triangles, adding up to 50, 70, etc.
This link is from Beast Academy (BA). BA is an excellent curriculum for kids who love math.
The link below also gives you an idea of what else you can do with Magic-triangle.
CrossNumber puzzles
CrossNumber instead of Crossword :) Try it out.
https://beastacademy.com/pdf/2A/printables/CrossNumberPuzzles.pdf
Guess and Check with Shapes and Smilies
Ask the kid to write all possible ways in which you can add up to the number:
Eg. 10
0+10 and 10+0
1+9 and 9+1
2+8 and 8+2
3+7 and 7+3
4+6 and 6+4
5+5
Once they do this, you can ask them questions like "Two numbers add to 10. Their difference is 4. What are the 2 numbers?"
You can try saying the following, too. Shapes are much more interesting than words for kids. Instead of triangles and rectangles, you can use smilies too :)
Math Dice Junior Game
If your child likes to learn in the form of games, check out the Think Fun Math Dice Junior Game.
Board Games
I played board games with my kid a lot. Especially chutes and ladders. But every time he rolled, he should tell me where his coin goes. So, no counting, he has to add. You can ask your kid every now and then as to where the coin should go. Kids are happy to move your coin too, and not just theirs! You can try Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land, Junior Monopoly, etc.
Junior Monopoly also taught him to handle cash.
Cryptograms
Easy Cryptograms can also be used to practice addition and subtraction. The left image is how I practised #Cryptograms with my #Kindergartener
By the time we finished this page, he was screaming for more. As you can see, I handwrote all the problems for him. This is because he gets distracted when there are a lot of unsolved problems on the page. He tries to hop between problems and solve them all at once!
I asked him to write the answers too. It gives him a sense of ownership. It took him more time to write the answers neatly than it took him to compute :) But it was still good.
The next day, we also did problems with carryovers in both the tens and the hundreds place. To see more Cryptogram puzzles and how to solve them, head over to Math Enrichment Activities - Cryptogram Math Puzzles and How to Solve Them.
Hope you got some "Fun addition worksheets" here. There are a lot more ways, like Balancing the scale, completing the equations, etc., but I'll post them as I finish those worksheets as well :)
Did you use any other technique to help your kids master basic operations? I'd love to know about them. Please do leave a comment on what worked for you.
For those who've mastered these basics, I'm also planning to conduct a camp on "Math with Puzzles" where the kids do Sudoku, KenKen puzzles, Cryptograms etc. Keep watching this space for more info, or shoot me an email if you're interested.
Hope this blog was informative and helped you get ideas to work with your child. Please do share this with your friends who'll benefit from this too :)
About me
I'm Vasudha Uddavan, founder of V's Online Math Tutoring.
For over 10 years, I've helped students develop problem-solving skills through Beast Academy, Art of Problem Solving (AoPS), math enrichment, and competition preparation.
I've worked with students ranging from elementary mathematicians discovering the joy of puzzles to advanced learners preparing for accelerated pathways, honors courses, and math competitions.
One of my favorite parts of teaching is watching students transform their relationship with mathematics—from seeing it as a subject to get through to something they genuinely enjoy.
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