Kitchen Table: Addition A

Remember, I will use a variety of maths resources from school but also real-life items too. We don't expect you to have piles of counters, cubes or numicon at home - corks, stones and even pennies are just as good. So long as your child can pick them up, shuffle them around and count them .

Task 1: In my first video ('Addition 1' above) I am beginning to explore addition. I made a symbol called 'add' (you can call it 'plus' too) with 2 lolly sticks in a cross shape like this:  +  

Adding means bringing two or more groups together to make a new total. I started with a pile of 5 cubes and a pile of 3 cubes but wanted to know how many cubes there were altogether. I needed to add! Watch the video to see how I helped those piles to come together and counted to find the answer.

There are no numbers to see at this stage; we need to taste and say them before we see and write them. No jumping ahead!

Task 2a: Once we have mastered grouping, counting and including the addition symbol, we can introduce number images. Every time you count you say numbers, but do you know what they look like as well as sound like? These are the numbers we are working with for now:

0       1       2       3       4       5       6       7       8       9       10

Make up some number fans for yourself at home (see links below), grab a pack of post-its or even some scraps of paper. Use these beneath the physical addition sentence to show your numbers. BEWARE the formation monster – make sure your numerals are always facing the right way!

Task 2b: Wow, 5 + 2 = we are on fire with addition! Now it is time to grow your number sentence. Finding the total (the number to go after the = sign) is when we often make mistakes or simply start plucking numbers from the sky. Watch and listen carefully before you have a go at home. Counting ON is the magic here. 

“1 2 3 4 5” (keep counting the next group…) “6 7”. We counted the 5 dots on the first dice and then CONTINUED with the other 2. The answer is the very last number we say. BEWARE not to keep on counting, just one number for each dot/item. This is called 1:1 correspondence and is super important in maths.

Have a watch, have a go and maybe 'add' an adding movie of your own to Dojo. Perhaps you could start your own KITCHEN TABLE MATHS channel! 

Welcome back, in this session we are getting super TECHNICAL and learning a mathematical LAW 😬. Watch the three-part video and read the ‘Commutative Law’ poster below to check you understand what it means.

Feeling ready for Task 3 action? Let’s see what you can do at home: have a go at ‘building’ the beginning of number sentences (4+3/6+1/2+7 etc) and then moving them (or you) around. Look from one side of the table and count to find the total, does the total change if you walk round to the other side of the table? NOPE! Ha ha, maths magic 😉.

Fancy a little more addition exploration?

Check out the links and videos below. Numberblocks in particular is always a great way to start a maths session - we use these videos in class all the time, they are fab.