Subtraction Games for Kids - Teaching Kids How to Subtract

If you are considering the idea of teaching kids math and subtraction by using their toys then you should be sure of the outcome, they will definitely love what they are doing and will always get excited about the lesson they are going to learn.

Kids love to play with their toys generally during the day and that is the reason why they will always find it interesting to learn something through playing with them as well. Subtraction is one of the different mathematical operations that kids learn the first thing in math and in addition to the two famous words used for it, which are subtract and minus, there are other words in the mathematical vocabulary which kids should be well aware of, such as take away, remove, take off, etc. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEK689u7hJs).

Math vocabulary is important because it will help the kids understand what is being asked from them, whether they should add, subtract, multiply or divide, and this could be worked on through the daily conversations that parents hold with their kids in general during the day and not just while they are homeschooling them and giving them some math lessons.

In this educational video, Michelle was stressing on the idea of helping the kids to learn subtraction and how to subtract through the daily things they do; it could be through asking them about the number of berries they are eating and what would happen if one is taken away, how many would there be and how could one get rid of this one. This will help the kid to think about the way this berry could be removed and then will manage to get the final answer which is how many will there be.

Talking about the small toys which could be played with, parents could do the same thing as with the other objects, they could make a story out of these toys, for example saying that the rabbit went for a walk alone, how many animals are still found there. This will also help the child to count and at the same time understand that when something disappears or is missing, it means that this is the same as subtracting.

It gets harder with every grade the kid reaches at school, but since we are mainly talking about homeschooling and the ways parents could follow while using the tools that are found at home without the need to buy anything, we should say that there are other subtraction methods, games and tricks which they could try out with their kids as well to teach them how to subtract and understand the language of subtraction.

Subtraction could come in the basic ordinary form that puts down the numbers and ask the kids to solve the equation, but it might also come in the form of story problems that the kids should understand, highlight the important numbers and then solve the problem (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyjjN1YY_0E). In addition to the Lego pieces that Michelle considers very interesting and exciting for the kids to learn through (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsQHpE6D6PQ), there are the methods that need nothing more than a piece of paper and a pen and this include the number lines for example (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nFYJlt_b5g) or the basic column method (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcAwwP8PJbg).

Math is not just about subtraction, but there is also multiplication (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvJRIK60idA), addition (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSPZpOB5TIY) and division, and every single one of these operations have its ways that could be tried with the kids and every single one of them might be suitable for a specific age or school grade, and you will also find kids different at this point, some might feel more comfortable while dealing with a specific method, while others could find the same method difficult for them. Parents should try different methods and techniques and then let the kids choose the one they enjoyed and liked the most.

How did you teach your kids subtraction? Share with us your previous experiences with math and homeschooling in general. If you have any questions you want to ask, send them over and we will be more than happy to offer our assistance and answer all your questions.

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