How to Teach Addition to Your Children

Nowadays, parents need to take mathematics home learning to the next level to keep their
children ahead of the game. Read on for more tips!

How to Teach Addition to Your Children

After learning how to count numbers, learning how to do addition is the next big mathematical step that every child should take.

Many parents have not figured out how to teach addition to their kids. They leave the bulk of
the work to teachers.

Well, we can’t really blame them! Just like teaching your baby to walk, the early phases of
teaching addition could be quite tricky.

If you want to learn how to teach addition to your kids, read on for a few step-by-step
strategies that’ll ease the process.

Neat Writing Numbers for Early Learners – Channies

  1.Ensure that they know how to count

Before you start to teach your child addition, you need to make sure they know how to count
numbers. If a child can’t count numbers—at least from 1 to 50—then teaching them addition
would be a waste of your time and theirs.

So, the first thing you should do is ask them to recite numbers. If they can recite numbers
successfully, then you’re good to go.

  2. Use Counting blocks and manipulators

To teach addition to your children, you will need some child learning materials like Lego bricks, beads, cheerios, counting sticks, and other manipulators. Research has shown that children
learn faster when you use these visual tools because they add an element of fun to learning.

• Give the child a small group of bricks (maybe 2), and bring another small group (say 3).
• Ask the child to count the number of bricks in each group.
• Add the two groups together, and make them count them altogether.
• Now explain to them like “We had 2 blocks; then we added 3 new blocks, and now we
  have 5 blocks.”
• Repeat the process a few times, and allow them to practice it on their own while you
  watch.

  3. Teach them the doubles

An easy strategy to teach addition to your children is by teaching them the doubles. Research
has shown that when kids have basic math at their fingertips, they become capable of handling
more complex problems.

They should be able to memorize doubles without even thinking about it. Start from small
numbers and start going higher:
1 + 1 = 2
2 + 2 = 4
3 + 3 =6
4 + 4 = 8
5 + 5 = 10

Remember to use the counting sticks, bricks, and other visual aids to make it fun for your
children.

Next, encourage them to memorize as many doubles as possible. It would also help if you make
them recite these doubles every day.

 4. Near Doubles

As soon as the kids have the doubles at their fingertips, it is time to teach the addition of near
doubles. Near doubles are basically doubles plus or minus one or two.
Start small and go higher. For example:
2 + 3 = 5
4 + 5 = 9
6 + 7 = 13
8 + 9 = 15
Teaching near doubles is a great way of stimulating your child’s brain.

For instance, now your child knows that 2 + 2 = 4. If you ask them the sum of 2 + 3, they should
mentally calculate 2+2 to get 4, and then add 1 to get the answer 5.
At this point, most kids may count with their fingers. Allow them to enjoy the process.

  5. Finding the Ten

When teaching addition to your children, it gets to that point where you introduce a mental
math trick called “Finding the Ten.” This is a great way to teach addition to your children and
watch them practice.
Remind them that 5+5=10, and have them figure out other ways to find 10. Other examples
include:
1 + 9 = 10
2 + 8 = 10
3 + 7 = 10
4 + 6 = 10

This is a great foundation to prepare them for adding larger numbers in the future.

  6. Teach them the language that represents addition

Now that you’ve passed the first stage, it’s time to teach them the different ways to describe
“addition.” Here are some words and phrases that refer to addition:
– in total
– sum of
– all together
– joined together
– put together
– how many in all
This will help them to understand addition word problems.
Another important thing you need to do before you start to teach addition to your children is to
be sure that they are familiar with the “+” and “=” signs.
To test their understanding of these signs, ask them to write “two plus one equals three.” If
they can write this correctly, then you’ve successfully ticked this box.

  7. Teach them the relationship between numbers

Single Digit Addition & Subtraction – One Page a Day – Channies

Now that your children have learned how to add to 10 in different ways, it is time to teach
them that other numbers can also be obtained in the same way.
So, your next step should be to teach them different ways to arrive at one answer. Consider
these examples:

2 + 2 = 4 and 1 + 3 = 4
2 + 3 = 5 and 1 + 4 = 5
2 + 6 = 8; 3 + 5 = 8; 4 + 4 = 8; 6 + 2 = 8
Create more examples, and then give them a little assignment to do.

  8. Introduce Skip Counting

Skip counting is a pattern of counting where you’ll ask your kids to count in twos, fives, tens, or
hundreds. It is similar to the multiplication table, but the trick is to make them mentally add a
particular number successively.

Skip counting by twos gives you 2,4,6,8,10,12,14,16. You get each successive number by adding
2 to the previous number.

Repeat the same process by making them skip count by 5 and 10. This exercise will help them
incredibly when they start learning multiplication.

When it comes to skip counting, remember to play it safe by using simple numbers like 2 and 5.
Your child may find it easier to skip count by fives than to skip count by fours. The most
important strategy is to follow your child’s pace.

  9. Introduce word problems

After teaching your kids how to do addition, create word problems to keep them busy.
Examples of word problems include
12 + 2 = x. Find x
y + 3 = 9. What is y?

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, learning takes time and consistency. If you’re looking for how to teach addition
to your kids, you have to be ready to invest your time and patience.
If your child is a slow learner, you need to allow them to learn at their own pace. Also, if your
child seems bored or distracted, you should engage them in a way that works for them.
As long as you remain open and adaptable, the possibilities are endless!