Your 7-8 year old will be using the terms ‘add’ and ‘plus’ as well as be able to recognise the + sign. She will be developing mental strategies and be learning how to ‘count on’ which can be quite tricky.
‘Counting on’ is counting on from a specific number, e.g. 12, 13, 14, 15. 16, 17 instead of simply counting from one.
It’s important at this age that your child is familiar with a number line. Your child will also be adding one and two digit numbers together, e.g. 5 + 11 = 16.
- Bunny Ears: Try playing this fun game together, ask your child to place both hands on their head and show you two numbers which add up to five. She might show you four fingers on one hand and one on the other or three on one hand and two on the other.
- Guess the coins: Place some coins in your pocket or closed in your hand. Tell her you have three coins which add up to fifty cent and have her guess what those coins could be.
- Count the pages: Read a story together at night, have them look at the content page and count together how many pages to the next story.
Read more about addition skills for 9-10 year olds here.
