Interactive Subtraction Games for Pre-K Students

Puppet Subtraction Chant - "Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree"

• For the finger play "Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree," you will need puppets to represent the five little monkeys and the crocodile. Have students sit in a semi-circle and teach them the finger play chant using one of the monkey puppets and the crocodile puppet while chanting:

  "Five little monkeys sitting in a tree

  Teasing Mr. Crocodile you can't catch me

  Along came the crocodile as quiet as can be

  And snapped one monkey right out of that tree."

  Next, have six students come up and act out the finger play with the monkey puppets. Remind the "crocodile" to gently pretend to snap at each monkey and the "monkeys" to quietly sit down as they are snapped at by the crocodile. After each verse, remind your students that they just subtracted one monkey and have them count the number of monkeys that are left. Continue the chant, counting down the number of monkeys until there are none left.

Flannel Board Chant - "Five Little Ducks Went out to Play"

• You will need five felt ducklings and one felt mother duck for the "Five Little Ducks Went Out to Play" flannel board activity. There is an original melody for this song, but you can teach the words to your students as a chant:

  "Five little ducks went out to play

  Over the hills and far away

  The mother duck said, "Quack, quack, quack, quack"

  And four little ducks came running back."

  (Continue with four little ducks, three, two, one, then finally no little ducks.)

  "No little ducks went out to play over

  Over the hills and far away

  The mother duck said, "Quack, quack, quack, quack"

  And all five ducks came running back."

  Then place the ducklings and mother duck on the flannel board. As you chant the finger play with the students, each time the mother duck says, "Quack, quack, quack," subtract one duck and count how many are left before finishing the verse of the chant. When you chant the final verse and no little ducks go out to play, remember that you need to quickly put the five ducks back on the flannel board before the last line: "And all five ducks came running back."

Finger Play Chant - "Five Little Speckled Frogs"

• "Five Little Speckled Frogs" can be done as a finger play using the five fingers on one hand. This is another song with an original melody, but it can also be taught as a chant. Hold up five fingers as you begin your chant and subtract one of your fingers each time the number of frogs is reduced as you review the chant:

  "Five little speckled frogs

  Sitting on a speckled log

  Eating some most delicious bugs.

  One jumped into the pool

  Where it was nice and cool

  Then there were four speckled frogs."

  (The last line of the last verse will be, "Then there were no more speckled frogs. Glub, glub!")

  At the end of each verse, count your fingers (representing the frogs) to see how many are left after subtracting each frog. Continue the chant until there are "no more speckled frogs."

Stick Puppet Chant: "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on a Bed"

• For the finger play "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on a Bed," you will need five monkey stick puppets. Using your fingers as the bouncing monkeys, review the chant:

  "Five little monkeys jumping on a bed

  One fell off and bumped his head

  Mama called the doctor and the doctor said

  "No more monkeys jumping on the bed."

  Then have five students at a time come up and act out the monkey actions with their puppets. Let the "monkeys" know that when you tap each of them gently on the head, they will then sit down carefully and hold their monkey puppet quietly until the chant is finished. Remember to count the number of monkeys left until there are none.