Addition with coloured sticks

        

We are starting to do more mathematics now that D is 5 years old. I am trying to help her get the hang of addition and subtraction. I always like to think of fun ways to help her learn maths. I think it is important for maths learning, particularly in the early days, to be very visual and practical. Therefore, I decided to set up an activity using little coloured sticks to help with counting.

                        

I started by getting a piece of paper and writing the number 5 at the top and sums all the way down. Each sum had to produce 5 and D's job was to fill in the gaps. She used the coloured sticks to count how many extra she would need to get to five. Above you can see her workings out for the first sum.

                        

After she had worked out the missing number for each sum, she wrote the number down. Of course, she had to use different colours for each one!

                        

Next she decided she wanted to work on the number 7. This time, she wrote all the sums out herself.

                          

Here is her finished worksheet. I was surprised at how much she enjoyed this activity. She has asked to do it everyday since!