Symbol Math with Around the House: Solve Each Expression

This math worksheet asks the child to read a key, substitute the values, and evaluate each expression with Around the House. First the child studies the key, where every picture stands for a small number. Then they tackle the expressions, each one a string of symbols linked by plus and minus signs. The child replaces each Around the House with its value, then adds and subtracts in order until one answer is left, sometimes as high as forty. Handling several symbols and two operations in the same sentence is exactly the kind of calculating Grade 2 calls for, and the picture key gives the child a friendly way in. You can sit alongside and read the key together, then watch your child solve each problem step by step — substituting, adding, subtracting, and arriving at a clear, correct total.

Here the expressions are a little longer, with four symbols to substitute before the child evaluates. Reading the key for the Around the House, swapping each value in, and then adding and subtracting in turn keeps the child working with several numbers at once. It is exactly the multi-term solving that Grade 2 arithmetic is meant to strengthen.

If your child enjoys this math worksheet with Around the House, there is plenty more to solve, at a pace that feels right. You can print the worksheet as a PDF to work on paper, or play the interactive version online, always free and with no sign-up. There are no timers and no scores: each child substitutes, adds, and subtracts in their own time, with warmth and no shame about a tricky problem. When this is easy, try a symbol math worksheet with Around the House that uses longer expressions, or solve the same key with a fresh set of pictures. You can also browse every math worksheet to keep the adding and subtracting going, steadily and at your child's own pace.