Why children love them
A mystery picture turns a page of number recognition or maths facts into a puzzle with a payoff. Children want to see what the picture is, so they keep going, and every square they colour is one more fact practised. Because a wrong answer shows up as a square of the wrong colour, they can often spot and fix their own mistakes.
Three ways to play
- Numbers. Match each number to its colour in the key.
- Sums. Addition within 10, every answer from 2 to 10.
- Take away. Subtraction within 20, every answer from 2 to 10.
More puzzles
Try dot to dot for counting in order and mazes for pencil control. For more practice with the same facts, the addition worksheets come with answer keys too.
Irish curriculum links
- InfantsNumeration and counting at Stage 1: recognising numerals, first within 10, and linking each one to an amount. Matching numbers to colours practises that recognition.
- 1st–2nd ClassStage 2 Sets and operations: choosing and using addition and subtraction strategies. The Sums and Take away modes give a page of facts within 10 and 20.
The Primary Mathematics Curriculum (2023) does not mention colouring puzzles, but a page of 144 or more facts gives plenty of the practice its Stage 2 outcomes need. Children check themselves as the picture appears, which fits the curriculum’s emphasis on reasoning as well as answers.
A few pictures follow an American calendar. In Ireland the pumpkin suits Halloween, which grew out of the old Irish festival of Samhain, and the Christmas tree suits the last week before the Christmas holidays.
Summarised in our own words from the Primary Mathematics Curriculum (2023) and the NCCA Mathematics Toolkit.
