Do you have a little one who is learning simple addition? These mats are perfect for this time of year and helping children grasp and practice addition of lower numbers. Math practice can always be more fun with hands-on activities. These Christmas Tree Addition Mats are the perfect addition to any Christmas themed math lesson! Use two colors of gems or small objects to practice adding up to numbers 2 to 10!
Using hands on activities to help teach children is a fabulous idea because it feels like play. When children see an activity as playing they may be more receptive to the actual topic being taught. This may help them remember easier as well.
These Christmas Tree Addition Mats are colorful, festive and so fun. The spaces on the Christmas tree act as ornaments but are also spaces for children to use counters to help them solve the simple addition problems. Each sheet has multiple lines for addition equations that can be filled out by you or the child.
Fun Christmas Math with Christmas Tree Addition Mats
Materials Needed:
- Cardstock
- Laminator
- Dry Erase Markers
- Gems or small objects for counting
The Activity
We use a lot of addition mats to play with our math practice. These mats tend to lead towards playing with math naturally so I love having them around the house.
For mats like these, I like to just leave them out with the gems nearby. We use two different colors so they can actually see the addition. Having the visual seems to help a lot!
So to get them started, I ask them to cover all of the white dots with a gem, color doesn’t matter. Then (with matching colors) we record how many of each we have. Since the tree only has 10 white dots, if they are all covered the answer will be 10!
Then I ask them to remove one or two gems of one color and replace them with the other color. Again, record how many of each color are on the tree.
I love that they can see how addition isn’t just putting random numbers together and coming up with another number. It’s clear that the green number represents the green gems and the red number represents the red gems.
I also think mats like these help them to see the patterns in addition. For instance, if 8+2=10 then 2+8=10.
If they need a challenge:
- Find all the different combinations
- Use 3 colors of the gems
- Fill out one number for each equation and have them figure out the other number
- Use two mats at a time and compare the differences
have you checked out the Christmas Worksheets and activities pack?
Get the Christmas math sheets here
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