4 Fun Addition Math Centers (plus FREEbies)!

Working on addition skills with your kiddos? Here are some fun and simple center ideas created by Nicole over at Mrs. Ricca's Kindergarten that you might consider trying out!

Butterfly Addition

Photo Source: Mrs. Ricca's Kindergarten

Great for spring and summer, your kiddos can work by themselves or in pairs to complete this center. Each student/pair will need a butterfly work mat, a numbered die, counters, and a recording sheet. To complete the activity;

  • Each partner rolls the numbered die, counts out the appropriate number of counters, and places it on their side of the butterfly work mat. [If working individually, each student will simply roll the die twice and fill both sides of the butterfly.]
  • Both students write out the resulting addition sentence on their recording sheet and solve!
  • Students continue this process until their recording sheet is filled with addition sentences.

At the end of the exercise, students create one last addition sentence in order to complete a fun craft!

Photo Source: Mrs. Ricca's Kindergarten

Spill & Add

Photo Source: Mrs. Ricca's Kindergarten

For this simple center all your kiddos will need is a cup, two color counters, and a recording worksheet. Designed to be played with five or ten counters, to complete the activity;

  • Students place their counters in the cup, shake it up, then dump the counters onto the table.
  • Separating the counters by color, students use them to create an addition sentence on their recording sheet.
  • Students continue this process until they've filled their recording sheets.

Goldfish Addition

Photo Source: Mrs. Ricca's Kindergarten

All kids love playing with food and they'll love this addition center created to go along with the Seuss classic One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish! After reading the story, provide students with a fish bowl addition mat, a cup of goldfish crackers, and a white board. To complete the activity;

  • Students listen to addition stories, using their goldfish crackers and mats to model the equation, then write the addition sentence on their white board.
  • After several practice rounds, students then create their own addition sentence, drawing it onto their fishbowl mat.
Photo Source: Mrs. Ricca's Kindergarten

Toy Store Addition

Photo Source: Mrs. Ricca's Kindergarten

This is another center based on a book, Stuart J. Murphy's The Penny Pot. The story takes place at a school fair and, as the tale is woven, shows kids how counting change can be fun! Pulling from this concept, the center invites students to;

  • 'Visit' the class toy shop and select two toys they'd like to purchase.
  • After reading the price tags, students use their piggy bank work mats and penny manipulatives to model the addition problem and determine how much it will cost to buy both items.
  • Recording the addition equation on their white boards, students return the items and select two more they'd like to buy, repeating the process.

What to know the best part about these centers? Nicole provides the work mats and recording sheets needed to complete the activities - for FREE - over at her blog so be sure to visit Mrs. Ricca's Kindergarten and grab a copy!

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