Adventures in Arithmetic

What is this, and who is it for?

These free printable pages of arithmetic lessons are to be used at home by a parent or tutor working with a child. Much of the material covered is typically taught to second graders.

What will you need to get started?

You will need access to a color printer. For some lessons, the child will need crayons, for others a pencil, for still others scissors and either glue or some other adhesive. All of the materials needed for each specific group of lessons are listed along with special printing instructions for each downloadable file.

How many pages should be attempted in each session?

Some pages can be completed more quickly than others, and different children (or the same child on different days) will bring varied levels of concentration and enthusiasm to the project. For these reasons, it is difficult to predict ahead of time how many pages to print out for any given session, but a good guess would be somewhere between 6 and 10 pages.

Is the order of activities and questions important?

Yes. Each question is ever-so-slightly more challenging than the preceding question. Answering the questions in the prescribed order is a little like climbing a staircase – each step up leads naturally to the next step.

Is it okay to continue if the child does not complete a given page correctly?

No, that is not a good idea. Have the child try again with a little more help this time (print out fresh copies of the page as needed). Then, if you’re unsure that the child could now complete the page without help, turn the page face down, distract the child for 30 seconds, and ask the child to attempt the task yet again.