Addition with Thanksgiving — Kindergarten

Two little groups of turkeys, pumpkins and a pie sit on each row of this kindergarten sheet, joined by a plus sign, with the total left blank. The task is simple and self-checking: count one group, count the other, and write how many Thanksgiving things there are together. Five- and six-year-olds can do every line by pointing and counting, which means the sheet works for a whole class at once — nobody is stuck waiting until they can read an equation first.

Before written sums make sense, addition has to happen with things a child can see and move. Joining a group of Thanksgiving things to another group and finding the total builds the part-and-whole idea — that two smaller amounts make one larger one — which is the concrete ground every later written method is built on.

Children who enjoy thanksgiving take to this one quickly, and it works just as well as a quiet morning task or a count-along on the board. When the set feels easy, count a different collection in addition with things that fly, or try addition with vehicles. You can also browse every addition worksheet or the whole Thanksgiving things collection for kindergarten — each sheet prints cleanly in black and white or plays online for free.