Tiny Explorers · Ages 2 to 4
Take Away Colour by Count
Take one away from each number, then colour the square by the answer. Five levels of printable colour-by-number subtraction 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 Take Away Colour by Count
The subtraction twin of our adding-one colouring page, and a child's first real encounter with taking away as something they do rather than something that happens. Each square on the grid holds one small subtraction — a number with one taken off it. The child solves it, looks the answer up in the colour key, and colours the square. Twenty squares, all the same single step, because at this age repetition of one idea is what builds fluency and variety only builds confusion. Answers stay between one and six so the colour key stays short enough to scan, and no square ever reaches zero, which keeps every answer something a child can point at and count. The five levels widen the range of numbers gradually rather than changing what is being asked. Each level prints as a clean A4 page in black and white on any home printer and downloads with its own separate answer key giving the value and colour of every square. Fresh questions are generated on every download. Pair it with Take Away Teddy Picnic, the on-screen game that practises the same step by removing teddies from a rug.
Common questions
- Does any square answer zero?
- No. Answers stay between 1 and 6, so every answer is something a child can point at and count.
- Is this too early for subtraction?
- Taking one away is the smallest subtraction there is, and children meet it in play long before they meet the symbol.
- Do I need a colour printer?
- No. The page prints in black and white — the child supplies the colour.
- Are the squares the same on every download?
- No. Fresh questions are generated each time, so the same child can practise more than once.
A hand for grown-ups
- Before you start
- Objects to take away make subtraction concrete — start with a small pile they can physically remove from.
- While they work
- For "8 − 3", some children count back and some count up from 3 to 8. Both are correct; let them use whichever they find easier.
- Afterwards
- Talk about "how many are left" and "how many more" in real situations — they are the same idea wearing different words.
- Watch out for
- Subtracting the smaller digit from the larger out of habit in column sums (e.g. 41 − 8 giving 47). Point back to which number is on top.
- Away from the screen
- Eat some of a snack pile and ask how many are left. Spend pretend money and work out the change.
Where to go next
Chosen by the skills this activity practises.