Subtraction with Home Things (Black & White) — Kindergarten

On every row of this sheet a group of beds, mirrors and a teapot is there to be thinned out. The child marks the ones that leave with a cross, then counts the home things that are left to find the answer. Nothing has to be read first — the picture is the problem, and the crossing-out is the subtraction. Keeping the groups small means a child can always check by counting what remains rather than guessing.

Subtraction makes sense first as an action: some of a group leaves, and we count who remains. Crossing out the home things that go turns that action into something a child can see and do, rather than a rule about a minus sign. Keeping the numbers small means the remainder is always countable, so the answer is verified, not guessed.

Children who enjoy home things (black & white) 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 hospital things, or try subtraction with nature (black & white). You can also browse every subtraction worksheet or the whole home things collection for kindergarten — each sheet prints cleanly in black and white or plays online for free.