Addition, Subtraction & Homework

The newest addition and subtraction homework looks like it is going OK........................Or is it?

I know that seeing a problem written as ____ = 3-2 looks strange, but there is purpose in preparation for first grade where the missing number in a problem can be anywhere (4 + ____=10, or 7 = 10-_____) and eventually algebra.  Seems crazy to think about that now, but that foundation of knowledge ALL begins in Kindergarten.  So, the equal sign is not meant, in mathematics, to be something to signal "solution", it is a symbol showing that one thing is "equal to" or "the same as" another.

Everything on the left of the equal sign is the same as everything on the right of the equal sign.

1 = (is the same as) (what you get when you take)3-2.

Students are just getting used to what each symbol + - = mean, and then they move places....it can be difficult.  Just keep working on it together.  On the homework, draw pictures if you want to.  Use fingers or snacks to act out the problems.  Tell a story using those numbers and operations (add, subtract). We use all of these strategies in class.  And, the more you have your child be the one to draw, act, tell, the better they will understand.  Over time, the understanding and fluency will come but the more consistently we practice at school AND at home, the quicker and more solid that knowledge will be.