Addition Game FREEBIE

I LOVE being a Kindergarten Teacher. I honestly think it is the best grade to teach. Kindergarteners are so excited about learning and they lack a certain learned helplessness that I find in older students. Their curiosity and inquisitiveness make it easy to develop exciting units around their interests and brings a special enthusiasm that older students sometimes get 'too cool' for later in life. Kindergarten teachers can turn ANYTHING into a game. And I mean... everything! Although challenging, I find that my weekly trips to my local Dollar Tree result in buying many manipulatives to try to teach in new and exciting ways.  If you're a Kindergarten Teacher you know those strange looks you receive when you're at check out purchasing a large amount of some random objects simply to make a new center for your little friends. I also know the frustration you feel when your significant other throws away a paper towel or toilet paper roll. I mean, don't they have how precious those are?!??! But hey, it's all part of the fun.

My school district just started using a new math curriculum so I find that my lunch, preps, and even 'date nights' have been spent making new games for the children to play in small groups. I'll admit that it has been very hard finding exciting new ways to meet the Common Core and keep my students engaged, but I think that this new program cold be very beneficial for my students once we get the ball rolling a little bit. Anyway, I thought it would be nice to share a game that my students LOVE that reinforces simple addition skills.

Addition Word Center Game

 Download the work mats by clicking HERE

 Materials:

- coffee stirrers/straws

- assorted beads

- work mats

- carpet tape

With the help of my teaching assistant, I made about 10 sets of addition beads using the straws and beads. I color-coded mine. I put 5 pink beads on one straw, 6 orange beads on another, as so on. 

Then I laminated the work mats and my students matched the color of the mats with the color of the beads. I also included a key for students to use. Using dry-erase markers, my students moved the beads across the straw to show different ways to make the numbers 5-10 and recorded the answers on the work mats.

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