Little Math Stories Addition and Subtraction Worksheet

Word problems can slow kids down, even when the numbers are small. This page keeps the work short and concrete with three little math stories: frogs by a pond, flowers in a vase, and rabbits in a garden. Your child reads each story, notices whether more are coming or some are going away, and answers the question at the end.

This is a good fit when a kindergartener can count small groups and is beginning to connect story language to addition and subtraction. The frog story asks about 3 frogs and 3 more. The flower story starts with 8 flowers and takes out 6. The rabbit story has 4 rabbits and 2 more hopping in. Those familiar actions make the math easier to talk through.

Sit together and read one story at a time. Ask, “Did the group get bigger or smaller?” Then have your child point to the numbers, say the action in their own words, and count to find the answer. If they stall, fingers or quick dots are fine. The goal is to connect more with addition and takes out or away with subtraction.

After this page, you can stay close to the same skill with the make ten number bonds worksheet, which gives more practice combining parts to make a whole. For a related off-screen warm-up, the bigger, smaller, equal groups worksheet helps children compare quantities before they return to solving story problems.