Magic Hands – Add & Subtract
This is a magic trick for practicing addition and subtraction. Do this slowly enough so that your child will get a chance to see what is going on.
For addition
Pick two numbers that add up to 5 or less. Count the number of raised fingers on your left hand, say 3. Count the number of raised fingers on your right hand, say 1. Bring the hands together and poof – the fingers on your right hand are transferred to the left – there are now 4 fingers raised. Magic!
Summarize by saying ‘3 fingers plus 1 more finger creates 4 fingers. Tada!’
For subtraction
Raise some fingers on your left hand, say 4 of them. Have your right hand reach over and grab some of the fingers, say 1 of them. Presto, there will be 3 fingers left raised on the left hand and 1 raised on the right hand. Summarize this saying that 4 take away 1 gives three, or say that you have broken 4 into two pieces which are 3 and 1. This wording emphasizes the concept of number bonds, which are pairs of numbers that add up to a given total.
Special cases
*Addition: Let one or both of the hands have 0 fingers raised and show nothing changes when adding 0.
• Subtraction: Subtract all the fingers so none are left over, and sometimes subtract none of the fingers to show that nothing changes.