Tiny Explorers · Ages 2 to 4
Add One More Colour by Number
Add one to each number, then colour the square by the answer. Five levels of printable colour-by-number addition with answer keys.
The learning journey
Every activity is one step. Here is where this one fits.
- PlayLearn the idea in a game
- Practise(you are here)Lock it in on paper
- ReviewCome back and keep it sharp
- MasterTake on a harder challenge
- AchieveEarn a certificate
About Add One More Colour by Number
This is a colouring page that happens to be an addition worksheet, and for a two- or three-year-old that ordering is the point. Every square on the grid holds a single small sum of the form "something plus one". The child works it out, finds the answer in the colour key at the top of the page, and colours the square accordingly — twenty squares, one idea, repeated until adding one stops being a puzzle and becomes something they simply know. Deliberately, every square uses the same step. A page of twenty different problems would be a wall of arithmetic at this age; a page of twenty of the same problem is practice. Answers stay within one to six so they map onto a short, readable colour key that a young child can scan without losing their place. The five levels widen that range gradually. Each level prints as an A4 page in black and white — the child supplies the colour — and downloads with its own answer key listing the value and colour of every square. Its on-screen twin is Add One More Cookie.
Common questions
- Why is every square the same kind of sum?
- Because the goal is fluency in one step, not variety. Twenty different problems would be a wall of arithmetic at this age; twenty of the same is practice.
- How many squares are on a page?
- Twenty, in a four-by-five grid, with a colour key at the top.
- Do I need a colour printer?
- No. The page prints in black and white — the child supplies the colour.
- Is an answer key included?
- Yes. Every level downloads with a key listing the value and colour of every square.
A hand for grown-ups
- Before you start
- Have something countable nearby. Being able to check "3 and 2 really is 5" by counting builds trust in the maths.
- While they work
- If a sum is hard, suggest counting on from the bigger number rather than counting both from one. It is a real strategy, not a crutch.
- Afterwards
- Try one together out loud, talking through how you worked it out. Hearing an adult think aloud is genuinely useful.
- Watch out for
- Counting both numbers from one every time. Nudge gently towards "start at the bigger one and count on".
- Away from the screen
- Add up small shopping items, or dots on two dice. Board games with dice are addition practice in disguise.
Where to go next
Chosen by the skills this activity practises.