Little Math Stories Addition and Subtraction Worksheet

Five-year-olds can race through counting, then stall when the numbers are tucked inside a story. This Little Math Stories page keeps the work small and concrete: frogs by a pond, rabbits in a garden, and apples in a basket. Read each sentence together, notice whether something is being added or taken away, and answer the question at the end.

This is a good fit when a child can count small groups and is beginning to connect everyday words like more and away with addition and subtraction. The problems stay within 8, so the focus can be on making sense of the story instead of wrestling with big numbers. If reading is still new, you can read the text aloud while your child points to the numbers.

The practice works best as a short talk-it-through activity. For the frogs, count 2, then count on 4 more to reach 6. For the rabbits, start with 4 and take away 1 to see 3 left. For the apples, start with 3 and add 5 more to make 8. If you want another nearby number activity after this, make ten number bonds helps practice seeing parts and totals in a simple format.

Sit beside your child and ask what happened first, then ask whether the group got bigger or smaller. Small counters, cereal pieces, or fingers can stand in for the animals and apples if the story feels too abstract. When the page is done, try a quick comparison chat, such as which answer is greater or smaller; the greater, smaller, equal numbers worksheet is a useful next step for looking at the answers in a different way.