3 easy ways to teach your first grader addition and subtraction

Let’s all admit that when it comes to teaching your kids, you become a child again and try to remember what you used to do when in school. However, whenever you try to teach your first grader addition and subtraction, you come to know that it’s different from what you had learned.

I went through the same phase when my six-year-old first grader came home with pages and pages of Math homework to be completed every single day.

How to teach your first grader addition and subtraction

So mummies, fret not. If you’re having a tough time and don’t know how to teach your first grader addition and subtraction, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

1. First things first

When you get down to teach your first grader addition and subtraction, remember to first lay out the basic properties. Here are a few properties for addition and subtraction to keep in mind:

• When you add 0 to any number, you get the number itself
• Similarly, when you subtract o from any number, you get the number itself.
• When you add 1 to any number you get the next number on the number line.
• When you substract 1 from any number, the answer is the number before it on the number line.
• While adding two numbers you get the same sum, when they switch places. For example, 3+2 =5 and 2+3=5. This is known as the commutative property of addition.

Once you teach your child these properties, it would be a good idea to practice them whenever you have time. For example, while you’re sitting together after dinner or while you’re taking a walk together in the park. Not only would it be fun for your child, it would also help them memorize these.

Watch this YouTube tutorial to understand better.

2. Use everyday objects and flashcards

Kids love using fancy objects and what better way to teach them math than by using objects that they love. You can use everyday objects that you use at home, such as crayons, small pebbles, ice cream sticks or peas. Use them to help your child learn addition and subtraction.

Ask them questions: what will you be left with if I take away these 2 apples away from the five apples you have? Or how many crayons would you have if I add four more to your five crayons? It would be fun and your kids would love to play the game. Use flashcards in the same way.

You can get some ideas from this Macmillan Education India video:

3. Use the Abacus

Abacus is a counting tool that would really help spruce up your child’s math skills. To begin with, you can get the basic Abacus tool that is available at your local store.

Give it to your child and let him count as he plays with the beads. Then gradually move on to teaching addition and subtraction using the various colourful beads. I’m sure your child would easily learn.

What’s more, you can even grasp his interest in Abacus and if you feel that he loves counting using it, you can perhaps enrol him in an Abacus class. It would help improve his speed and also would benefit him when he learns Math in higher grades.

Watch this video to know more about how to use Abacus:

Read: 5 reasons why you should introduce your child to Abacus early