Adding Up introduces sums in the most concrete way possible. Three balloons and two balloons are drawn on the board, with "3 + 2 = ?" written above them. Your child finds how many there are altogether.
What your child is learning
At first, children add by counting everything: one, two, three, then four, five. That is a perfectly good start. With practice they begin to "count on", holding the first number in their head and counting up from it: three... four, five. Later still, small sums are simply remembered.
This game supports all three stages. The pictures are there for children who need to count every one. The written sum is there for those ready to work from the numbers.
How to help
Read the sum aloud as a little story. "Three balloons, and two more balloons. How many balloons now?"
If your child counts everything from one, let them. When that is secure, cover the first group with your finger and say, "We know there are three here. Let us carry on: four, five."
Show that the order does not matter. Two and three make five, and so do three and two. Children find that surprising and useful.
Use fingers freely. They are the best counting tool ever invented, and there is no reason to discourage them.
Taking it further
Make sums from real objects at home: three spoons and two forks, four red bricks and one blue.
The sums stay within ten on purpose. Being fast and sure with small numbers is worth far more at this age than struggling with big ones. As with all our HTML5 games, a wrong answer just means another try.