Learning how to add is an exciting math milestone in kindergarten! This skill requires a lot of repetition, which means it’s helpful to add some engaging learning activities to keep students motivated to practice addition. In this post, I’m sharing some of my favorite hands-on addition games for kindergarten that students love!
The Importance of Hands-On Math Practice
Math can be intimidating for many young students! Hands-on math activities can make these concepts more approachable for your kindergarteners. In particular, games can take a lot of the stress out of math practice! Students often don’t even realize they’re hard at work as they play these games during their daily learning routine.
Hands-on activities are also helpful for students who are kinesthetic learners. They are able to see math concepts in action with engaging activities!
Hands-On Addition Games for Kindergarten
These hands-on games can be used throughout your daily routine to help students get more practice with addition concepts. These games can be played independently, with partners, or even in small groups depending on the needs of your class.
1. Chewing on Addition
This math game is a great way for students to practice decomposing numbers! Students can spin a number and count out that many game pieces. Once they have the correct number of game pieces, they will split them into two groups and put one group in each gumball machine. Encourage students to think of a new way to break up a number each time they spin it!
As students begin to see the patterns in the decomposed numbers, they are building a foundation for understanding addition. It will be easier for them to see the relationships between numbers, which will help them become more comfortable and fluent with addition.
2. Slides and Ladders
This Slides and Ladders board game is always a hit with kindergarten students! They will roll two dice or spin two numbers and add the numbers together. Once they have figured out the sum, they will move their counter to the next space on the board containing that number.
They’ll need to look out for the slides as they work their way to the finish line! If they land on a space with a slide, they will backtrack on the board. If they land on a space with a ladder, they’ll get a little boost! They will continue playing until someone reaches the end of the game board.
3. Hot Diggity Dog
These dog puzzles can help students practice counting on to help them add. To complete this activity, students will choose one head and one tail puzzle piece and put them together. They will say the first number and then use “dog bone” counters to count up to the other number.
They can then document the addition on a task card, showing how the two numbers make the sum. This activity can be played over and over again, since students will be able to mix and match the puzzle pieces in many different ways!
4. Sinking Ships
For this game, students will work to rescue their ships before they sink! Students will place eight counters anywhere they’d like on the game mat. These are their sinking ships! Students will then roll two dice, add the numbers, and see if they have a sinking ship on a square that matches the sum. If they do, they can remove that ship from the game mat. They will keep playing until they have rescued all of their ships.
This game is also great practice with subitizing! As students have fewer and fewer pieces left on their mats, they will have to roll the dice many times in order to create the sums they need. This repetition will help them begin to identify the numbers of dots on the dice by sight.
Using Games in Kindergarten
There are many ways that you can incorporate these hands-on addition games into your math lesson plans. Here are just a few examples:
- Morning Seatwork: Games can also be a fun way for students to ease into the learning routine first thing in the morning. You can have the game materials available at each table group and invite students to play quietly while they wait for the daily routine to begin.
- Small Group Skill Practice: You can use hands-on addition games to bring some targeted skill practice to your small group instruction. As the students take turns, you get a chance to assess their understanding of the concepts one at a time.
- Math Centers: Games can be an engaging addition to your math center rotation! You can use illustrated instruction cards to help students play the games independently. Since most of the games are open-ended, it’s easy for students to stay engaged until it’s time to move on to the next center.
- Early Finisher Activities: Once students have had a chance to play these games in small groups or during centers, they are the perfect choice for early finishers! You can have one or two of these addition games available for students to play quietly if they finish their work early.
Printable Kindergarten Addition Games
If you would like to add some engaging math games to your learning routine, I’ve put together a resource to save you planning time! You can find the games pictured in this post along with seven other fun activities for a total of 11 games for addition practice.
These activities are easy to prep! They are designed to use printable spinners along with manipulatives that you already have on hand. There are no tiny game pieces to cut out or keep track of! You can take a closer look at everything included with this set of addition games in my TPT store.
Save These Hands-On Addition Games
Be sure to save this post so you can come back to it later! Just add the pin below to your favorite kindergarten board on Pinterest. You’ll be able to quickly find these hands-on addition games when you’re putting together your math lesson plans.
