On this page, you will find online activities and games that young kids can play for free that will actually help them to develop the important skills that they need to add and to do addition successfully at home.
If you've read my post about How to Teach Addition for Kids at Home then you'll understand that not all kids will be learning the same and doing the same things at the exact same ages and so to give your kids the best learning opportunities that you possibly can at home you are the best judge of what they are ready for. Find out more about how to decide what kids need to work on by having another look at the post on teaching addition at home.
This page includes interactive games and maths activities that will prepare young kids (roughly 4-6 years old) for understanding addition.
Non-Flash Games & Activities
I generally stick to non-Flash websites to recommend on my site because I know that lots of parents want their kids to be able to play these games on tablets and iPads.
Independent Online Activities
Parents can't be there, supporting learning 100% of the time and so activities and games that kids can do independently, but that are also genuinely educational are extremely useful. I have only recommended the most child-friendly resources that kids can definitely learn to access themselves.
Having said that, it's always best to supervise children of any age using the internet.
Best Free Online Addition Games for Kindergarten
These free games are interactive and help kids learn the basics of addition and practise their skills in a fun way. I've explored the addition games available and found that you don't need to spend anything for kids to be able to play really effective games that can actually benefit their addition skills. Many of the websites I have listed sort the games by the skill that is promoted in each, making it easy for you to guide your child towards playing games online that will really improve their addition and pre-addition skills in the areas they need to work on most.
Kindergarten Addition on Splash Learn
When you register on SplashLearn, they ask for a few details about you and your child which helps them provide a really personalized experience. There's lovely, bright graphics and lots to choose from, plus it's tablet-friendly.
I registered for a student account for Kindergarten since that was the youngest age available but the activities labelled as kindergarten games are actually well suited to kids of any age or grade that are learning to count, number bonds, representing numbers and basic addition.
Is SplashLearn free for parents?
The only downside is that whilst there is a quota of activities you can do when you sign up for free, this does run out and then a subscription costs between $3-8 monthly.
SplashLearn Interactive Games
Even without registering, you can access the Kinder Addition Games area. For kids still learning to do addition, filter the games by Topic and choose from Addition, Counting and Number.
ABCYa Educational Maths Games Online
In the Pre-K Maths games area, you'll find really nice games that kids can play, with or without help, to practise their skills. Birthday Candle Count is great for numeral and quantity matching, Counting Fish is good for counting practice and matching numbers, Fuzz Bugs (I love this one) is all about sorting and Monster Mansion Match is great for counting and matching numbers with quantities.
In the Kindergarten section, there are even more interactive games with lovely graphics that can definitely help kids improve their early addition skills at home. My favourite was Marble Math, where kids drag colourful marbles into two groups to represent a word problem and then use them to find the total of two groups and get the answer.
Is ABCYa free for parents?
ABCYa is totally free for anyone. To find the games that I mentioned above just click on either Pre-K or Grade-K and then choose Numbers.
Is ABCYa Educational?
I think that these games are very educational and provide a great way for kids to practise their early addition skills at home in a fun way. Remember kids learn best through play and having fun!
Education.com Addition Games
What I like about Education.com is that there are so many games that teach addition to kids but they can be interspersed with mini-lessons in the form of songs, stories and cartoons that teach a lesson before kids apply what they learn. This way kids are continually moving their learning on instead of staying stuck on one game for hours. (On the other hand, this might not be as fun for kids if they feel they don't get much say in what they play.)
Filter their games by age - Preschool or Kindergarten - and then in Math topics - Addition or Number Sense.
Is Education.com free for parents?
Education.com is free to try but only with limited access. Membership costs between $5-16 monthly.
Hands-on Addition Activities at Home
Online Dice Addition Games
Dice are a staple in classrooms - I have a couple of giant foam dice with clear plastic pockets in mine. I slide letters, numbers, shapes, words or pictures into the pockets and then we play games using the dice to add a little more fun to the lesson. The kids love that they get to roll the dice themselves and they love that they don't know what they'll land on.
Online or virtual dice can help kids practise addition at home through a few different activities:
rolling two dice with the dots showing and having kids count the dots on either dice and then count the total of the two groups
roll two dice with numbers on the faces and then use objects or make marks to help add the two numbers together
later on, kids could use dice with numbers or dots on the faces as a fun way to get two numbers to add together using another method that they know.
Where to find Virtual Dice for Kids Online:
Interactive Number Line Activity
Online Number line for Kindergarten - Don’t overlook this one because it seems to be less fun or because kids might not be able to work with the number all by themselves line straight away.
Once you’ve introduced the number line, show your kids how to use it to help them to add or to check answers they came up with using another method. This web tool allows you to add in arrows that show your jumps and has a pen tool that kids could use to draw their own jumps or even write out the number sentence.
Don’t forget that to begin with, there should be the same number of arrows as the number you are adding on. So if you are adding on three, there should be three individual arrows rather than one long one that covers three spaces.
Make your own Number Lines at Home
I recently put together a quick post with easy steps for making your own number lines at home because I realised how easy it was when I had a go myself. I even managed to make the simple number line above in 60 seconds flat. You and your kids can make your own number lines SO easily at home by following the steps in the post or following the instructions in the video tutorial.
If you aren't sure how number lines can help kindergarten kids to develop important addition skills then make sure you have a look at the section about teaching kids to add on a number line in my How to Teach Addition to Young Kids at Home post.
Addition on Whiteboard Apps for Kids
It costs nothing, it's ad-free, it doesn't take up a ton of memory, it's easy enough for young kids to use and it's perfect for turning addition practice at home into a more fun and interactive experience!
I tried this out myself (see above) and I loved how you can even save your images to look at again later or share with others and best of all - there's a rainbow pen!! (This app also works on Mac.)
Addition on a Desktop Whiteboard for Kids
Microsoft Whiteboard App for Windows
I love using the Microsoft Whiteboard App for jotting down my student's ideas during live lessons with my KG1 class. This app is perfect for kids to practise different methods of doing addition like making marks or drawing pictures and then counting them. My favourite things about Microsoft Whiteboard are the glittery rainbow pens and it's text recognition feature where you can convert your notes into neat text with one tap.
FREE Slides Download for Addition Skills at Home
I put together some really simple slides with various fun and colourful icons for kids to practise finding the total of two groups. I chose this specific skill because of how important it is for kids to actually start to add numbers together once they have mastered counting and number/quantity matching.
Kids choose which icon they like and they make two groups by dragging the icons into the two boxes. Next, they count each group and choose the right numbers to represent the amounts in each group. Finally, they can add in the + and the = signs and the number for the total to make a whole number sentence!
This activity will need a little adult support, at least at first. Kids can start by just working with the icons or they can make their groups and say the number aloud and then they can begin to start selecting the numbers and making their number sentences once they get really confident with the grouping and counting. Please note: You don't play the slideshow but you may need to zoom out to see all the numbers and shapes around the outside of the slide.
Just download the slides here and open them on your device to get going! 🤗
MathGames.com
At MathGames.com parents can sign up for free (or sign in with Google) to then create one or more student accounts for their kids. Parents set up usernames and passwords for each of their kids to use for access to MathGames.com. Parents can assign activities, assess their kids at home and track kids progress.
MathGames.com integrates with Google Classroom so some kids doing online learning might be familiar with it already. I like this site because it contains lots of activities that are sort of open-ended, similar to my home-made one above, where kids can explore their learning and practise their skills in a fun, interactive way and with immediate feedback. Their activities are simple and minimal with few distractions.
Counting, Number & Addition Apps for Kids at Home
Apps that kids can play on their own at home are great because kids can learn independently without needing help and support all the time. There are loads of good apps out there, and which ones you have access to might depend on the country that you live in, but here are some helpful lists of the best, most popular and FREE apps:
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