Addition Games for Preschoolers: A Fun “Addition Expedition” Math Activity

After working on real-life addition word problems this week, our fun project will begin to tie those experiences to the more abstract number sentences we are familiar with on worksheets like 1+1=2. By now, your child will have been introduced to the concept of putting two groups of numbers together to “make more".

Materials you’ll need

• Number cards 1-10 (at least two of each number) Laminate them if you want to reuse them. This activity might get messy! For quick, disposable cards, just write sets of numbers on 3x5 cards or Post-It notes.
• One plus sign (+) card
• One equals sign (=) card
• Three blank cards
• 10 of some small items that a child would like to search for and two areas in which to search.
  
  Here are some ideas:
  - 10 plastic bugs and two bowls containing leaf litter where the bugs “hide”
  - 10 polished stones and two bowls of dirt where the stones are buried
  - 10 toy fish (small erasers work great for this!) and two bowls of shaving cream with a couple of drops of blue dye to make foamy waves.
  
  
• Fun searching tools (bonus fine motor activity!):
  
  - A spoon
  - Kitchen tongs
  - Plastic tweezers
  - Your hands!

Instructions

Assemble your cards so that you have them laid out in a blank number sentence template:

[blank card] [+] [blank card] [=] [blank card].

Have your child help you lay out all the number cards in order 1-10 (both sets) so that they can easily see them.

Tell your child that they’re going on an addition expedition! They’ll be searching in two locations for the bugs (stones, fish, etc.) and then adding together how many they find.

Where your child cannot see, hide a small number of the objects in each bowl, for example, 2 in one and 3 in the other. You don’t have to hide all 10 each time. In fact, they should total a variety of different numbers as long as it never totals more than 10.

Turn your child loose to search! Have them carefully find all the objects in one bowl first and place them in a pile above the first blank card in their number sentence. Then, move to the next bowl. After carefully retrieving all the objects in the second bowl, place them in a pile above the second blank card.

Now, guide your child in counting the first pile and selecting the right number card to go under it. Let’s stick with our example and say 2.

Now, their number sentence will read [2] [+] [blank card] [=] [blank card]. Next, have them count the second pile and choose the correct card for it. [2] [+] [3] [=] [blank card]

Read this number sentence to them, pointing to each card as you read it, “Two plus three equals . . .” Now, use their counting together skills practiced earlier in the week to have them count the objects altogether to find the answer and select the correct card. [2] [+] [3] [=] [5] Read the sentence again, “Two plus three equals five!” Do a happy dance!

Repeat by hiding different amounts of objects each time and working slowly through each step to find the answer.

Teaching moments

• If your child is not yet ready to tackle addition with this project, it can just be a fun finding and counting expedition! Back off on the adding component and just let your child find the objects, count them up, and choose the correct number card.
• Use this as an opportunity to work on that additional vocabulary! Switch up your wording each time. “How many fish were in the bowls combined?” “How many stones do we have altogether?”
• There are so many things going on here: one-to-one correspondence, counting, number recognition, addition, fine motor skills, and sensory experiences! Slow down and enjoy the ride. There is learning happening at each stage, so it is not just about getting to the final sum at the end. Don’t forget that it is more important for them to just absorb the concept of addition and its vocabulary at this point than it is to get the right answer every time.