Little Math Stories Addition and Subtraction Worksheet

Kids often know how to count, then stall when a sentence asks what happened to the group. This kindergarten page uses three short math stories: 6 frogs with 3 more jumping over, 10 flowers with 6 taken out, and 1 apple with 3 more added. Read one story at a time, then have your child figure out how many are there now or how many are left.

This is a good fit when a five-year-old can count small groups and is starting to connect “more” with joining and “away” or “out” with taking from a group. The numbers stay within 10, so fingers, buttons, pennies, or small blocks can stand in for the frogs, flowers, and apples. If reading the sentences is still hard, you can read aloud while your child handles the counting.

The practice works best when the story becomes hands-on. Put out 6 counters for the frogs, add 3, and count the new total. For the flowers, start with 10, move 6 aside, and count what is left. For the apples, begin with 1, add 3, and count all. This keeps the focus on addition and subtraction as actions, not just symbols.

Sit nearby and ask, “Is the group getting bigger or smaller?” before counting. If your child guesses, go back to the story words and act it out again. After this page, try the Make Ten Number Bonds Worksheet to see parts and wholes another way, or use the Make Ten Ten Frames Worksheet for a visual way to build groups to ten.