How I’m Preparing my Child for Kindergarten | Math Activities + Free Printables

 

It’s hard to believe that this summer is nearly halfway over, and before I know it, my oldest will be heading off to Kindergarten. I swear it seems like it was just yesterday that we brought him home from the hospital, but alas, this exciting time is upon us. As tough as it is to see my “baby” growing up, it’s become my priority to prepare him, as much as possible, to head off to school this fall. I know that come September our days will undoubtedly become hectic, so it’s important to me now, more than ever, for us to find ways to spend quality time together! Because of this, I wanted to create a fun, kindergarten-appropriate, activity for my son and I to do together. I thought that it would be perfect if I could incorporate learning simple addition and subtracting with one of his favorite snacks. It seems that at this age, he really takes to activities that make learning fun, and this activity, that pairs Pepperidge Farm® Goldfish® crackers with two free printables that I created for practicing simple addition and subtraction, has been a huge hit.

My son has been having so much fun learning how to add and subtract, and has gotten increasingly more comfortable with numbers through doing this activity. It has really been a fun way for us to sit down and sneak in a little back to school preparation, while enjoying a snack and making memories together. It makes my mama heart happy to have come up with something that helps him to learn and grow!

The addition printable can be found here, and the subtraction printable here, and I think that they work best, if you print them on thicker paper (think card stock) and then take them to your local office supply store to get them laminated. That way they can be re-used over and over again, with a whiteboard marker. Once you have these materials, all you’ll need is some Pepperidge Farm® Goldfish® crackers (the cheddar flavor are a staple in our house) and you’re ready to get your math on and spend some quality time together. I simply place a particular number of Goldfish® crackers in each circle on the printable, and have my son count the number of crackers in each. This not only helps him to practice his counting, but also writing and becoming more familiar with numbers. Once he counts the number in each circle, he can then count up a total. I can’t even begin to tell you how amazing it is to watch your child become more skilled at adding and subtracting through the use of a physical item that they can count… it helps when the item is delicious too! I won’t be surprised at all, if once my son heads back to school, he starts counting the Goldfish® crackers that I pack in his lunch box during snack time!

What’s your favorite way to spend quality time with your child?

Be sure to visit the Goldfish Pinterest page for more back to school and snack inspiration!