Christmas addition to 5 math centers with hot cocoa, marshmallows and holiday fun! Your students will have so much fun learning addition up to 5 with these 8 math centers and 4 printable activities, all ready for your December math block.

There is a strong emphasis on connecting one-to-one counting to addition and composing numbers up to 5. Many of the activities can be differentiated to introduce addition to students who do not yet have strong number recognition, making these centers perfect for pre-k and kindergarten.

With these Christmas addition centers, you get

• 8 hands-on math centers for addition to 5
• 4 printable activities for independent practice
• Picture support that ties counting to adding
• Games like Bump!, Spin 'n' Win and Slap-It!
• Activities that adjust easily for pre-k and kindergarten

Print, prep and enjoy a merry month of math!

What's Included

Centers Included

• Puzzles
• Pinning Cards (pin a clothespin to the correct answer)
• Addition Spin 'n' Win
• Addition Spin 'n' Win war version
• Bump!
• Hot Cocoa and Marshmallow Match
• Match it! (a matching game)
• Slap-It! (a fun variation of Slap Jack)

Printables Included

• Create picture representations of addition problems
• Spin 'n' Graph
• Connect the addition problem to the simple number line
• 3 color by addition problem pages

Why Teachers Love It

• Eight centers in one pack: Rotate games and puzzles all through December so addition practice stays fresh.
• Counting builds to adding: Picture cards and puzzles let children count to find each sum.
• Easy to differentiate: Many activities work for children who are still learning to recognize numbers.
• Printables for independent work: Picture, graphing, number line and color by addition pages are ready for morning work or early finishers.
• Festive and focused: Hot cocoa and holiday pictures keep little learners excited to play.

Skills Students Practice

Primary Academic Skills

• Addition to 5: Children solve addition problems with sums up to 5.
• One-to-one counting: Children count pictures one at a time to find how many in all.
• Composing numbers to 5: Children put two small groups together to make a number up to 5.
• Representing addition: Children draw pictures for addition problems and connect problems to a simple number line.
• Number recognition: Children match sums to numerals in games and puzzles.

Secondary Life & Learning Skills

• Taking turns
• Following directions
• Using mathematical language
• Waiting during group play
• Working independently
• Building confidence during group participation

How to Use It

Step 1: Print the centers you want to use, then cut apart the cards and puzzles. Add clothespins for the Pinning Cards.

Step 2: Model each center in a small group, counting the pictures together to find each sum.

Step 3: Place the centers in your December math rotations and use the printables for independent practice or review.

Materials You'll Need

• Clothespins for the Pinning Cards

Easy Differentiation

Young learners come to addition with very different number skills. These centers make it easy to meet each child where they are.

For Children Who Need More Support

• Start with the puzzles and picture-based cards so children can count to find the answer
• Count each group aloud together before finding the total
• Use counters or mini erasers to act out each problem
• Play Match it! with a small number of cards

For On-Level Practice

• Rotate through the centers during math time
• Play Bump! and Addition Spin 'n' Win with a partner
• Complete the picture representation and number line printables

For an Extra Challenge

• Play the Addition Spin 'n' Win war version or Slap-It! for quick fact practice
• Have children say each addition sentence aloud
• Ask children to find more than one way to make the same number

For Speech, OT, ELL or Special Education Support

• Use the Pinning Cards to build hand strength with clothespins
• Practice number words and math words like "plus," "equals" and "in all"
• Let children point to an answer when speaking is hard
• Give extra processing time and use fewer cards at a time

Perfect For

• December math centers
• Small groups
• Partner games
• Intervention
• Morning work and early finishers
• Substitute plans
• Preschool, pre-k and homeschool

Standards

These Christmas addition centers support the 2022 Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines and Virginia's Early Learning and Development Standards (2021) and build kindergarten skills in Common Core, the TEKS (Math, adopted 2012) and the Virginia Math SOL (2023):

Common Core State Standards

• CCSS K.OA.A.1: Represent addition with objects, drawings and equations, as on the picture representation pages.
• CCSS K.OA.A.3: Decompose numbers less than or equal to 10 into pairs in more than one way, such as 2+3 and 4+1 for 5.
• CCSS K.OA.A.5: Fluently add within 5.

Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines

• Texas Pre-K Guidelines PK4.V.B.1: Use objects, pictures or a spoken word problem to show adding up to 5 objects.
• Texas Pre-K Guidelines PK4.V.A.2: Count up to 10 objects, touching one object for each number.

Texas TEKS

• TEKS Math K.2.I: Compose and decompose numbers up to 10 with objects and pictures.
• TEKS Math K.3.A: Model the action of joining to represent addition.

Virginia Early Learning and Development Standards

• Virginia ELDS CD3.1: Count and recognize quantities in each picture set.
• Virginia ELDS CD3.2: Understand number relationships and solve problems by combining sets.

Virginia SOL

• VA SOL Math K.CE.1.a: Compose and decompose numbers up to 5.
• VA SOL Math K.CE.1.f: Model and solve join problems using concrete objects.

Add the Christmas Addition to 5 Math Centers to your cart and fill your December math block with games, puzzles and printables that make adding feel like holiday play!

Download Details

Please note: This is a digital download that will be available to you directly after purchase. Nothing will be mailed to you.

You will receive a link to the download in three places

1. On the 'thank you' page after checkout
2. In your email
3. Login on the site here: https://lifeovercsstore.com/account