Snowman Addition and Subtraction (Plus a Snowman Addition Free Printable!)

This is Day 1 of the 12 Days of Christmas Math Games and Activities for Homeschoolers! You can check out the other posts in the series to find easy, hands-on math lesson ideas for your homeschool this month! Today I’m excited to be sharing a fun way for kids to practice addition and subtraction facts, using this cute snowman addition free printable!

This activity was designed for kids in kindergarten, who are starting to learn about addition and subtraction. It can be adapted for kids from preschool through 2nd grade using the suggestions included in this plan!

I only recommend products that I use and that we love.  This post contains affiliate links and I may earn a small commission when you click on the links. There is no additional cost to you and you are supporting my family as I help others homeschool with confidence. Thank you!

What You Need:

• This snowman addition free printable (get it below!)

• 2 dice (to practice 1-6 facts) or a deck of playing cards (to practice 1-10 facts)
• 10 counters, buttons, or other small objects to use as manipulatives in each of 2 different colors (total of 20 items)
• Single sheet laminator, or a page protector sheet
• Dry erase marker

Optional Items to Make the Snowman Addition Free Printable More Fun:

• A LAMINATOR: Throughout this series, it will be helpful to laminate some of the pages. Pages that are laminated will hold up better to repeated use by multiple kids. In addition, your child can write on laminated pages with a dry erase marker. If you don’t have one yet, a single sheet laminator is a fantastic investment for your homeschool. You will save the money that you spend on a laminator many times over as it will allow you to re-use consumable resources!
• A large DRY ERASE DIE: This allowed me to choose which numbers I wanted to write on the sides- and my kids enjoyed rolling the larger die.
• Fun CHRISTMAS THEMED COUNTERS: I found a cute set of Christmas-themed erasers at the Dollar Store that my kids love as counters. We also love to use food as counters- cheerios and M+Ms work especially well.
• JINGLE BELLS: Our favorite Christmas themed counter is actually a set of small jingle bells! My kids love playing with these and somehow any math activity is more fun when we can use jingle bells as counters.
• A MAGNET WAND: Because most jingle bells are magnetic, a MAGNET WAND is a fun addition to this game, and will allow your kids to practice fine motor as well.
• Alternatively, red and green POM POMS and kid-sized TWEEZERS add a fun fine motor component to the lesson. You can also use a SPOON to practice scooping.

Prepare:

• Gather your supplies.
• Print the snowman addition free printable and laminate it, or put it in a page protector sheet, so that your child can write on it with a dry erase marker.
• If you are using a deck of cards, remove the face cards and shuffle the deck.

How to Use Your Snowman Addition Free Printable:

In this activity, your child will be practicing addition and subtraction facts. To use the mats to practice addition, have your child roll the dice. They should write the number below the snowman and add that number of counters on top of the snowman. Then, they can roll the dice again and repeat the process with a different color of counters. The last step is to count the total number of counters and record the answer.

To practice subtraction, roll both dice at once. Start with the bigger number, add that many counters to the snowman, and record that number first (the minuend). Then, subtract the smaller number (the subtrahend) by removing that number of counters. Count how many are left and record the answer (the difference). Your child can erase their answers, remove the counters, and complete this activity over and over!

Adapt It For Your Kids:

For Younger Kids:

Use smaller numbers:

Instead of using dice to practice addition facts from 1-6, consider using a dry erase die to practice facts from 1-4 or 1-3. Write smaller numbers on the sides of the die. If you are using the numbers from 1-3 for example, you will label 2 sides of the die as “1,” 2 sides as “2” and 2 sides as “3.” If you don’t have a dry erase die, you could also use a deck of playing cards. Sort out all the cards except the numbers you would like to practice. Shuffle and draw cards to choose the numbers instead of rolling the dice.

Instead of practicing addition facts, practice counting.

Roll 1 die. Count the dots and put that number of counters inside the snowman. Write the number below.

For Older Kids:

Use a deck of playing cards instead of dice.

Remove the face cards from the deck, leaving the number cards from 1-10. Shuffle the cards and turn over cards one at a time to choose numbers to add. This will allow your child to practice addition facts from 1-10 instead of 1-6. Or, roll 2 dice at a time to practice addition facts from 1-12.

Add an extra challenge.

Use tweezers or a spoon to place items in the snowman to add a fine motor practice to this activity.

Extensions: Graphing

For older kids, create a recording sheet and list out all the problems and answers that you create. Then create a bar graph with the answers. Which answers were the most common?

What Your Kids Will Learn:

This activity is great because it gives kids concrete practice with addition. Research shows that when kids learn new math concepts, they go through a progression from concrete, to pictorial, and then finally abstract. This means that kids should learn new concepts by using manipulatives first, then practice with pictures, before they will be able to figure out an abstract problem in their heads. In this activity, kids are making 2 piles of counters and physically blending them together. This helps them understand addition in a very hands-on way.

Get the Snowman Addition Free Printable!

Fill out the form below to get your copy of the snowman addition free printable. I’ll also send the other lessons in the Christmas Math games and activities series straight to your inbox. All your math plans for the month are done!

Get all the 12 Days of Christmas Math Games and Activities Lessons!

This huge 200+ page PDF is stuffed with hands-on activities and printables to complete 12 fun Christmas themed math lessons! Each day includes complete directions and printables, plus bonus tips, extension activities, and worksheets to reinforce the concepts your kids are learning. This huge bundle includes all the activities and printables you will need to complete the 12 Days of Christmas math games and activities, plus bonus worksheets and extension activities that won’t be included in the free downloads! Harness that Christmas excitement to make homeschooling fun this season with this easy-to-use resource!

These lessons were designed for kids in preschool through 1st grade. Each lesson includes adaptations to customize it for your child’s unique needs- or so that siblings can do the activities together!

Learn more about this amazing resource here!

Christmas STEM Bundle- Save 30%

Are you looking for hands-on science experiments for your homeschool too? I’ve combined my Christmas math and science resources into a huge STEM bundle! And when you purchase both resources together you can save 30%! Learn more here.

Check out the other posts in the 12 Days of Christmas Math Games and Activities series here to find more fun activity ideas for your homeschool!