Addition with Vegetables — Kindergarten

Here addition mixes something to count with something to read. One addend is a little set of carrots, peas and a pumpkin the child counts for themselves; the other is a numeral already written down; the box after the equals sign is where the total goes. Counting the vegetables and then carrying on past the written number to reach the answer is exactly how five- and six-year-olds start to trust that a numeral stands for an amount they could have counted out themselves.

This is the bridge between counting and arithmetic. A child who can count a set of vegetables 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 vegetables 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 vehicles, or try addition with supermarket things. You can also browse every addition worksheet or the whole vegetables collection for kindergarten — each sheet prints cleanly in black and white or plays online for free.