Math for kids doesn’t have to be worksheets and drills! Check out this fun way to explore simple addition activities.
Math for Kids
My preschooler knows hers numbers and can count up to a bazillion, but it’s mostly memorization at this point. To reinforce the concept that each number has a value – not just a name – and to introduce her to thinking about addition and subtraction, we play this colorful math for kids activity with Do-A-Dot Markers.
Materials for Do-A-Dot Math:
- Markers
- Paper
If you don’t have Do-A-Dot Markers on hand, using regular markers or crayons would work just fine.
Simple Addition Activities
First, either set up your “worksheets” or do this part together and ask your child to stamp the corresponding number of dots to the numeral you’ve written on the worksheet.
Then, for the addition problems, have your child stamp the number of dots at the end of the equation. She can stamp along each of the dots in the equation counting aloud or simply stamp the sum if she doesn’t need the extra step. Don’t write in the answer until she’s tried to solve the problem herself.
Simple Subtraction Activities
For the subtraction problems, ask your child to draw a line through the vertically matched up dots in the equation and see what’s left: that’s the answer!
This is an example of a worksheet we created together where my daughter chose the the numbers as we went along.
Easy as 1-2-3!
Math for kids is the most fun when it involves hands-on kids activities like Do-A-Dot Markers. What simple, homemade math games do you recommend for a preschooler?
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