Subtraction with Flowers — Kindergarten

Each line gives the child a group of tulips, daisies and a rose and some to take away by crossing out. They mark the ones that leave, then count the ones remaining to find how many are left. Doing the take-away with their own hand — rather than reading a minus sign — is how subtraction first makes sense at five and six, and keeping the groups small means the leftover flowers can always be checked by counting.

The last number you count among the ones left names how many remain — and that is the answer to a take-away. Linking the count of what's left to the result is the understanding kindergartners are forming, and crossing pictures out keeps it something they can point to and recount for themselves whenever they are unsure.

Children who enjoy flowers 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 forest creatures, or try subtraction with insects and bugs. You can also browse every subtraction worksheet or the whole flowers collection for kindergarten — each sheet prints cleanly in black and white or plays online for free.