Gingerbread Addition Mats - A Dab of Glue Will Do

Adding up numbers can be a lot of fun for our littlest learners… especially when it involves yummy candy and cookies!

We are always looking for ways to connect what our students are learning to things that matter to them, like with games they play, adding up money, adding blocks, and even adding each other up as they line up. With hands-on math, they will then retain and understand what they are being taught.

Students get excited when we bring in objects they are able to count and add up. We find there are many different things around the classroom, playground, and even at home that can be turned into addition problems. These are activities that are hands-on and all around us.

Our students can’t get enough gingerbread during the winter: they love decorating their cookies and houses, smelling them, and mostly eating them! Our students love eating their gingerbread cookies while writing their Gingerbread Man Book about what parts of the cookie they ate.

Incorporating gingerbread into playing math games is a great way to get children learning without realizing they’re learning.

We begin learning the concepts of number sense with our Gingerbread Number Puzzles, because students enjoy learning their numbers with these adorable gingerbread puzzle pieces.

Our little learners get creative with their winter math activities when they play our Snowman Number Math Up.

To further their learning of numbers, students get really into the holiday spirit with this Christmas Lights Addition game and worksheets.

And they can show what they know with these Gingerbread Addition Mats, helping our preschool and kindergarten students learn and review their addition facts in a hands-on way that’s perfect for winter.

Connect this gingerbread math activity to literacy with our favorite gingerbread books.

When students learn to count and add manipulatives they are more prepared to understand the concepts behind the math problems.

Want even more math ideas for your students? Be sure to take a look at our favorite Addition and Subtraction Books.

A gingerbread man mat with the equation "3+1" on it with a child's hand building the equation with paper gumdrops.

Inside You’ll Find:

25 different interactive mats, covering numbers one through seven
4 pages of gumdrop counters
1 addition sentence recording sheet

Gingerbread Addition Mats help students learn to add with a fun seasonal theme so they are more prepared to understand the concepts behind math problems.

I find it best if you print this center on cardstock and laminate it so you can use the center for years to come.

Supply list for Gingerbread Addition Mats:

paper or card stock
laminating pouches
laminator
vis-a-vie markers
Gingerbread Addition Mats Printable (scroll down to download!)

Using the Gingerbread Addition Mats

These mats are so easy and entertaining to use in math centers. I place all of the mats in one of my math tubs with a few vis-a-vie markers and a Ziploc baggie with slightly wet sponges (so students can clean their mats when it is time to clean up).

Students will pick a mat of their choice. Using the gumdrop counters they will figure out what the answer to the addition sentence is.

When students have figured out the addition sentence, they will use a vis-a-vie marker to write it out on their gingerbread mat.

This is an excellent way for your students to also practice writing their numbers. Since these markers erase so easily, they can keep practicing until they get it correct.

Once students have finished their addition sentence, they will then write their sentence on the recording sheet. With this recording sheet, you can help them go back and fix any errors they made and assess which students understand the concept.

This repetition encourages students to practice writing their addition sentences and helps them to build confidence as they master this skill.

To get this freebie, use the ‘click here to download’ button at the bottom of this page.

If you have younger students or students struggling with this concept that might be overwhelmed with the addition sentences, you can differentiate this activity. They can count out the gumdrops for each number and place them on the mat next to the number, then count all the gumdrops on the mat to come up with the total.

Even though they are not filling out the sentences they are still being exposed to the concept of addition.

Once they master counting out the number with the gumdrops, they can start writing out the addition sentences.