I think the best days of summer are spent enjoying a delicious ice cream treat. Bring some of that summertime goodness into your classroom and sweeten up your math lessons with these free Ice Cream Math Mats for both addition and subtraction! They may not be a real ice cream treat but your students are still sure to love them!
*Pair with our Summer Centers and Activities for Pre-K & Kindergarten!
Ice Cream Math Mats
These ice cream math mats are perfect for any Kindergarten or 1st grade homeschool or traditional classroom. I like to put them in my math centers or use them in small groups. I have even sent them home for students to use outside of school for extra practice.
Gather Your Materials
- Ice Cream Math Mat Printables (at the end of the post)
- Dice
- Dry erase markers
- Manipulatives for counting (We like to use candies, marshmallows, or any other sweet treat we have on hand but any small manipulative works great!)
I like to laminate my math mats for use year after year. It also makes this activity more fun and engaging when children can use dry erase markers to write in the math equations.
If you don’t have access to a laminator, then you might try slipping the printables inside of a sheet protector or dry erase pocket sleeve. I’ve used them this way as well!
Addition Math Mats
For the addition version of this activity, students will start by rolling one die twice, or two dice to get the 2 parts for their addition equation.
They will then write the 2 numbers in the blank boxes at the bottom of their addition math mat.
Next, they can use their yummy ice cream toppings to build their addition equation. Simply place the correct amount of toppings in the first half of the ice cream cone, and again in the second half.
Lastly, children will solve their addition problem by adding up the 2 parts of the ice cream cone. Using a dry erase marker, they can write that number in the 3rd blank box.
Teacher Tip: Children can check their work by counting the dots on the dice and counting the number of toppings in the ice cream dessert.
Subtraction Math Mats
In preparation for using the subtraction math mat, it is important to remind children that this mat doesn’t have two parts because you will be taking away from the whole ice cream cone to find the answer.
Students will start by rolling two dice to find their equation.
Students then will determine which is the largest number that they rolled. They will place that many number of ice cream toppings in the center of the ice cream treat.
They will also write the largest number rolled in the first blank box of the equation.
Students will then write the second number rolled on the second box at the bottom of the page.
The smallest number rolled is how many ice cream toppings will be subtracted from the center of the ice cream cone.
Once the ice cream cone toppings have been removed from the center of the ice cream dessert, students will write how many are left in the 3rd box of the equation to get their answer!
Grab Your FREE Copy
Ready for some addition and subtraction practice? Grab your free copy of the ice cream addition and subtraction math mats by clicking the large, yellow download button below!
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Build an Ice Cream Cone Activity
Wow! Thank you so much for sharing your great ideas.
Darlene,
We’re so happy you’re enjoying our resources! Have a great day! 🙂