Things You'll Need:
- 10 Popsicle sticks
- 2 pencils
- 1 eraser
- Paper
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Step 1
To teach a child to add you will begin with helping the child visually recognize the idea of gaining more. Take one Popsicle stick and place it in front of the child. Say to the child “one.” Place a second Popsicle stick in front of the child and say “plus one is two.”
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Step 2
Write on a piece of paper the number one. Say “one.” Write under the number one but to the left the plus sign and say “plus.” Write under the number one another number one and say “one.”
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Step 3
Go back to the Popsicle sticks again and place one Popsicle stick in front of the child and say “one.” Place a second Popsicle stick in front of the child and say “plus one is….” Allow the child to give you the answer. If the child gets it right go to step 4. If the child does not get it right repeat steps 1 through 3 until the child gets the right answer.
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Step 4
Now move to a higher number. Place one Popsicle stick in front of the child and say to the child, “one.” Then place two more Popsicles sticks in front of the child and say, “plus two is three.”
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Step 5
Write on a piece of paper the number one. Say “one.” Write under the number one but to the left the plus sign and say “plus.” Write under the number one the number two and say “two.”
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Step 6
Go back to the Popsicle sticks again and place one Popsicle stick in front of the child and say “one.” Place two more Popsicle sticks in front of the child and say “plus two is…” Allow the child to give you the answer. If the child gets it right continue on to the next number in sequence. If not begin again.
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Step 7
When the child masters adding the numbers one through nine to the number one, you can start introducing the adding of the numbers one through nine to the number two. Once the twos are mastered you can move on to each sequentially higher number until the child has learned adding all the primary numbers.
