Addition with Faces (Black & White) — Kindergarten

On this sheet the child meets a picture and a number on the same line. They count the group of smiling faces, winking faces and a yawning face, look at the number printed next to it, and count on from the pictures until the written number has been added in full. Keeping one side as a countable group of faces gives a child who is still shaky on written numbers a concrete place to start, while the printed numeral gently introduces the symbol that will carry their maths later on.

This is the bridge between counting and arithmetic. A child who can count a set of faces and then count on by a written number is connecting the concrete world of objects to the symbols that will stand in for them, and keeping every total within ten means the link can always be checked by counting rather than taken on trust.

Children who like faces (black & white) settle into this quickly, and it suits a calm independent task or a counting game on the board. When the numbers feel easy, count a fresh group in addition with farm animals, or try addition with household things (black & white). You can also browse every addition worksheet or the whole faces collection for kindergarten — each sheet prints cleanly in black and white or plays online for free.