Kindergarten Math: Subtraction Games

Subtraction can always be tricky to teach kindergarteners. Unlike addition where kids need to gather or collect more objects, subtraction is parting or taking away. The idea of taking away things is hard because no kid likes that! Hence to impart basics of subtraction a grasp over addition is much required. Without a good hold on addition, children can fail to grasp the concept of subtraction. Adding and subtracting go parallelly, hence it is important to understand one for the other.

Subtraction for Kindergarteners

The definition of subtraction can be understood as taking apart and taking from.  It is the process of taking away, removing, decreasing, diminishing objects or things from a pre-defined quantity.

For example:  4- 1 = 3 which will be read as 4 take away 1 is 3

SplashLearn focuses on the common core subtraction standards defined for kindergarten subtraction through a range of mathematical activities, games and addition and subtraction worksheets. All activities will focus on the conceptual clarity of how to subtract in young preschool learners. The games and activities for kids will be based on representing subtraction with objects, fingers, mental images, drawings, sounds, acting out situations, verbal explanations, expressions and simple sentences and equations. At the kindergarten level, all this is expected to be done for numbers within 10. Children should also be able to see subtraction as decomposition of numbers just as they see addition as a collection of numbers.  

Subtraction Through Games

For preschool children visuals, hands on activities and math games always work the best. Kids enjoy doing these more than doing math sums. Games provide a risk-free environment where children can fail yet enjoy. Math games for kindergarten also help in mental math as the calculations are done by them in their heads.

Subtraction games hence would be an exciting way to infuse the subtraction skills along with enthusiasm and fun in kids. Math learning games or educational games also help in boosting confidence and mathematics communication skills. SplashLearn brings a list of fun games for kids to learn how to subtract. These best subtraction games and preschool activities will help younger kids to understand how to subtract in an easy and fun way.

Subtraction Games and Activities

SMASH DOUGH

Kindergarteners absolutely love playing with dough! Give them some playing dough to roll out balls and then let them smash the ones that are being taken away. This activity will help you gauge your kids’ understanding of both knowing numbers and then taking away concept. Kids don’t want to give or part away but they enjoy smashing the Dough. To conduct this activity first ask children to make, for example 5 balls. Then ask them to smash 3. Then ask so how many balls are still left?
First let them be comfortable with numbers from 0-5. Then move on to doing the same with numbers between 0-10. Essentially, when they are asked to smash they are being told to subtract from the balls they had initially made. For example, 9-5 is illustrated below:

MONKEY SUBTRACTION

Math activities for preschoolers can be made even more fun by combining storytelling and math word problems. For example, if there were 6 monkeys on the tree and 2 climbed down or jumped to another tree, how many were left on the tree? Once students get comfortable doing it they can be taught subtraction sentence formation too. How to mathematically write the same situation as 6-4=2

Math aids like counters can also be used. Monkey counters will make the entire activity more hands-on and engaging.

ROLE PLAYING

Rather than using counters or objects if children are involved in the activity themselves then that becomes the best way to learn. With their own involvement, the learning lasts for longer and understanding is better. For example, taking 5 kids out in the park or garden and sending two of them on any errand. Then asking how many are left to play the game? So basically they have to subtract from the kids who were available in the beginning to find out how many are left to play. Children may not like being sent away so you can select two for one game and then ask now how many are left to play the second game? Similarly, for the monkey subtraction game to you can give them a mask and let them be the monkeys.

FINGER MANIPULATIVE

Fingers work as the best manipulative for children to learn to count, add and subtract within 10.

Just let them count the number on their fingers and raise their fingers. Ask them to fold the fingers whenever they need to take away. The number of fingers that are left risen is the answer to the subtraction problem.  You must encourage them to use their own hands to solve it but if writing and thinking and doing it on fingers simultaneously gets too challenging for them, provide them with a hand paper cut-out which they may use to do subtraction sums.

TREE BIRD ACTIVITY

Another effective way to grasp how to subtract is to visualize it through this tree bird math activity.  Use picture cards to tell a story of birds and let kids know how many birds to begin with. Then through a story narration tell them that one bird goes away to look for wooden sticks to build the nest. Two more go away to search for water and food. So how many birds are left on the tree? This can be converted into a math worksheet too where for example, we started with 6 birds and then 1 left and then 2 more went away. Hence, the mathematical equation will look like 6 – 1 = 5 and then 5 – 2 = 3. This activity will reinforce subtraction definition. It will help kids understand the concept of repeated subtraction too. Subtraction flash cards can be used according to which kids would have to create their own stories and their own picture cards. Blank tree picture cards can be provided for kids to draw the number of birds and the birds flying away.

RELATION BETWEEN ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION

Another interesting activity is for students to create groups or pairs to form a fixed set of number. For example, we need 6 kids to play a game. Ask children that if you want to play this game how many more kids do we need? What if you and your sister are ready to play the game? How many more kids do we need? What if there are 10 kids at home? How many would we have to refuse to if everyone wanted to play?

Investigation method of learning promotes not just a strong conceptual understanding but also encourages kids to think in a similar manner. It encourages children to ask questions themselves. Doing this activity, for any number from 1 to 9 kids will be able to find the number that makes 10 when added to the given number. Hence, they would be able to see a strong relation between addition and subtraction

SUBTRACTION BOWLING

In this mathematics game, we have a fixed number of bowling pins that is 10. Kids have to roll the ball and make the bowling pins fall. Each time they need to record the number of bowling pins that fell and then answer the question- how many are still left standing? Convert this into math worksheets where kids can record the observations each time.

COOTIE CATCHER

To check the fluency of a kid over addition and subtraction up to 5, cootie catcher is the perfect fun mathematical game. Write subtraction sums on the outside, make fingers to demonstrate sums in four of the eight inside panels and use counters or objects to show in the remaining four inside panels. In the innermost panel draw whatever you feel your child enjoys or needs to know, be it tally marks, or abacus beads to learn how to subtract better.

SUBTRACTION PUZZLES

This is one of the fun math puzzles games that will indicate how fluent children are with addition and subtraction. First, provide them with different addition sums. They need to sort and join the puzzles to the correct answer. This math puzzle activity shall also help kids to see how one number can be decomposed into a sum of two numbers in so many different ways. For example, 5 = 4 + 1 but 5 = 2 + 3 also! Once students get comfortable with addition logic puzzles, introduce them to similar subtraction brain puzzles.

Let them subtract two numbers and find the result. They shall put together the sum puzzles to the answer puzzle and solve them. Another interesting way to do the same activity is to time it. This will check the speed and mental ability of kids to quickly calculate the subtraction sums and do the fast math. The same activity conducted in a timed manner will bring about pace and competitiveness in children which are always a thrill for them.