Subtraction

Imagine you have four shiny, red balloons. Whoosh. One flies up, up, up into the big blue sky. Now you have three balloons left to hold. What if you have five warm, chocolatey cookies on a plate. Yum. You eat one all up. Now you have four cookies left. That's me helping you count what is left over. I am Subtraction. My special job is to help you see what's left.

A long, long, long time ago, people learned all about me when they shared things with their friends. Imagine someone picked ten sweet, purple berries from a bush. If they gave four berries to a friend, they used me to know they had six left for themselves. See. I am not about losing things. I am about giving and sharing. I help make sure everyone gets a fair turn. When you share your toy cars and give one to a friend, I am there. When you split a big, crunchy apple, I help make the pieces fair for everyone so you can both have a yummy snack. I love helping friends share.

I am your helpful friend every single day. I help you count down the days until your birthday party. Five days, then four days, then three. I am with you when you build a tall, tall tower with your blocks. If you need to make it just right, I help you see how many blocks to take away. I am the magic of 'taking away' and 'finding the difference'. So whenever you share your snacks or eat a yummy treat, you can say hello to me. Hello. I am Subtraction, and I love helping you make everything fair and fun.