Subtract a Number with Faces (Black & White) — Kindergarten

On this sheet the child meets a picture and a number to subtract on the same line. They count the group of smiling faces, winking faces and a yawning face, read the number after the minus sign, and take that many away to find the rest. Keeping one side a countable group of faces gives a child who is still shaky on written numbers a concrete place to start, while the numeral gently introduces the symbol their subtraction will lean on later.

Pairing a countable group with a number to subtract builds two things at once — the take-away meaning and the first comfort with written numbers. Because the faces stay pictured and the totals stay within ten, the child can always fall back on counting to check, so the symbol is introduced on a foundation they can trust.

Children who enjoy faces (black & white) settle into this quickly once crossing-out feels easy, and it suits a calm independent task. When this feels easy, take some away in subtract a number with farm animals, or try subtract a number with insects and bugs. You can also browse every subtraction worksheet or the whole faces collection for kindergarten — each sheet prints cleanly in black and white or plays online for free.