Subtraction in kindergarten is about one big idea: taking away. Before children can work with a number sentence like 7 − 3, they need to see seven things, watch three of them go and count what is left. The standard asks for subtraction within 10, solved with objects, drawings, fingers or a number line, and for problems within 5 to become quick and easy by the end of the year.
These fifteen sheets follow that path. Sheets 01 to 03 are all pictures: cookies crossed out, sea creatures taken away and little stories of things flying off. Sheets 04 to 07 bring in the tools a kindergarten classroom already uses, ten frames, snap cubes, dice and counters, along with a cut and paste page. Sheets 08 to 10 ask the child to do more of the thinking, drawing their own circles, writing the whole subtraction sentence and finding the missing part of a number bond. Sheets 11 and 12 move to the number line, and the last three are quick practice within 5 for building speed.
Zero turns up throughout, on purpose. Problems like 3 − 3 and 5 − 0 surprise young children, and meeting them early on friendly pages takes the mystery out of them.
Nine of the fifteen print in plain black and white, so most of the set is easy on ink for a class. If you want even more, there is a first set of kindergarten subtraction worksheets with fourteen more pages.
Cookie Take Away Subtraction Worksheet for Kindergarten
Six plates of chocolate chip cookies. Cross out the ones that get eaten and write how many are left, with the first plate done as an example.
Under the Sea Kindergarten Subtraction Worksheet
Eight ocean cards where the problem is written in pictures: three starfish minus one starfish, five clownfish minus two.
Fly Away Subtraction Story Worksheet for Kindergarten
Six little scenes where something flies off: birds, bees, balloons, ladybugs, a butterfly and leaves on the wind.
Ten Frame Take Away Kindergarten Subtraction Worksheet
Six filled ten frames in bright colors. Cross out the counters being taken away and write how many are left.
Cube Train Subtraction Worksheet for Kindergarten
Six snap cube trains with a few cubes broken off the end. Count the cubes still together and write the answer.
Dice Dot Subtraction Worksheet for Kindergarten
Eight pairs of dice with a minus sign between them. Count the dots, take the second from the first and write the answer.
Snowball Cut and Paste Kindergarten Subtraction Worksheet
Six problems within 5, each with snowballs to cross out. The answers are cut from a strip along the bottom and glued into place.
Draw and Subtract Within 5 Worksheet for Kindergarten
Seven problems within 5 with room to draw. Draw a circle for each, cross out the ones taken away and write the answer.
Squirrel Subtraction Sentence Worksheet for Kindergarten
Five boxes of acorns with some already crossed out. Write the whole subtraction sentence: how many, how many crossed out, how many left.
Number Bond Subtraction Worksheet for Kindergarten
Six number bonds with the whole and one part filled in. Find the missing part and write it in the circle and on the line below.
Frog Hop Number Line Kindergarten Subtraction Worksheet
Five problems, each with its own number line from 0 to 10. Start on the first number, hop back and write where you land.
Blast Off Subtraction Within 10 Kindergarten Worksheet
Twelve problems within 10 in a neat grid, with a single number line across the top as a helper.
Bee Hive Subtraction Matching Worksheet for Kindergarten
Six bees carrying problems within 6. Solve each one and draw a line to the honeycomb with the answer.
Gumball Machine Kindergarten Subtraction Worksheet
Ten gumballs, each with a problem within 5, colored red, blue, yellow or green by the key.
Construction Zone Kindergarten Subtraction Worksheet
Nine problems within 5 written one number above the other, each with a box for the answer.
One more thing.
If your kids finish a unit and you're not sure what to do next, our honest advice: don't move on yet. Spend a week mixing these in as warm-ups. Fluency isn't a unit, it's a habit, and the sheet that builds it is usually the one they ask to do again.
