Subtraction with Animals — Kindergarten

Here a child subtracts by doing, not by remembering. Each line lays out some cows, sheep and a hen; the task is to cross off the ones that go and count the ones still there. A row might start with a few and send one away, or start with more and cross several off, so the take-away looks different each time. Crossing out and counting the remainder is the most concrete form of subtraction there is, and it is exactly where five- and six-year-olds begin.

Before a minus sign means anything, a child needs to feel that subtraction is taking away. Removing pictured animals by crossing them out and counting the rest builds exactly that feeling, and it lays the groundwork for seeing later how addition and subtraction undo each other. Totals within ten keep the whole idea checkable by counting.

Children who enjoy animals take to crossing out quickly, and it works as a calm hands-on task or a whole-class action on the board. When this feels easy, take some away in subtraction with household things, or try subtraction with breakfast. You can also browse every subtraction worksheet or the whole animals collection for kindergarten — each sheet prints cleanly in black and white or plays online for free.