Addition with Pets — Kindergarten

Adding and part-finding are braided together down this page so the same pets get used two ways. One row hands the child a group of cats, dogs and a rabbit and a number to fold in for a total; the next hands over a whole with one part shown and asks for the piece that completes it, the way making ten works. Travelling between the two keeps both ideas warm at once — joining amounts and pulling a number apart into its pieces — and the small totals mean a kindergartner can always fall back on counting the pictures to be sure.

Putting amounts together and breaking them back into parts are the two halves of early number sense, and meeting both on one page builds the flexibility kindergartners need. Finding the part that makes a total is the make-ten thinking behind so much later arithmetic, and pairing it with straightforward adding keeps the pets concrete while the ideas grow.

Children who like pets enjoy the change of pace from row to row, and it works well for a small group ready to think in more than one direction. When the numbers feel easy, count a fresh group in addition with post office, or try addition with things that fly. You can also browse every addition worksheet or the whole pets collection for kindergarten — each sheet prints cleanly in black and white or plays online for free.