Gingerbread Subtraction Mats

Combining themes and learning makes everything so much more fun! These interactive Gingerbread Subtraction Mats are the perfect addition to your math centers this holiday season. Your students will have no idea that they are learning. Are you looking for more Christmas ideas, activities, and printables to do at home or in the classroom? If so click here.

Gingerbread Subtraction Mats contains 20 different interactive mats that cover numbers 1-20 and 5 pages of gum drop counters. It is recommended that you print the mats and counters on cardstock and laminate so you can truly make this an interactive center and also so it can last for years to come.

Doing Gingerbread Subtraction Mats

Students will pick a subtraction mat of their choice. They will then count out gum drop counters to equal the number. They will take away the amount shown on the mat and come up with the final answer.

Once they have the answer, they will use a vis-a-vie marker and write the subtraction sentence on the mat.

Lastly, they will record their subtraction sentence on their recording sheet. I find that this repetition encourages students to practice writing subtraction sentences and, in the end, helps them build confidence on what they are doing. Also, each step builds on the other, where in the end they are writing the entire sentence on their own.

These mats are also perfect for introducing the concept of subtraction to preschool students too. My three year old was able to count out gum drops to match the first number and then take away the second number. Even though we did not fill anything else out, she was at least being exposed to subtraction at some level.

Can you not find a resource that you would LOVE to have for your classroom? Contact me and I would be happy to make it for you.

Click the picture below to download.

I hope that you and your students enjoy Gingerbread Subtraction Mats!