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Subtraction Worksheets (Ages 4–7)
Subtraction worksheets are printable sheets for children aged 4 to 7 that teach taking away, finding how many are left, and finding the difference. They move from picture take-away and crossing out to number lines, subtracting within 10 and 20, and using related addition facts, across Pre-K to 1st Grade, Reception to Year 2, and LKG to Class 1.
Subtraction is taught after addition and is harder for one reason: the answer is what remains, not what is in front of the child. A four-year-old eats two of five biscuits and counts the three left, which is subtraction with real objects. A five-year-old crosses out pictures, then hops backward on a number line. A seven-year-old in 1st Grade, Year 2 or Class 1 sees 12 − 5 and thinks "5 and what makes 12", using an addition fact instead of counting back. Counting back is where most children stall, because counting backward is a skill many six-year-olds have not practiced. The subtraction worksheets here put take-away, crossing out and number-line sheets before bare number sums, and pair each range with the matching addition facts. Parents in Pre-K, Reception and LKG should start with the picture sheets.
393+ worksheets · free PDF download · print on A4 or Letter
Subtraction Worksheets to print
Browse all worksheets for ages 4–7
Caterpillar Counting Worksheet for Preschoolers
This worksheet helps children practice counting segments by using fingerpaint, pom poms, or clips.
Corn Seed Addition Worksheet for Preschoolers
This worksheet helps children practice basic addition skills by counting and combining corn seed images.
Addition House Worksheet for Preschoolers
This worksheet helps children practice simple addition using visual aids.
Festive Math Fun: Counting and Addition Worksheet for Kids
This worksheet helps children practice counting and basic addition skills using festive Christmas images.
I Spy Christmas Worksheet: Count and Write!
This worksheet helps children practice counting skills and number recognition by identifying and counting Christmas-themed images.
I Spy Spring Worksheet: Count and Write!
This worksheet helps children practice counting skills by identifying and counting different spring-themed objects.
Spooky Math Worksheet: Halloween Counting Fun!
This worksheet helps children practice counting and basic subtraction skills using fun Halloween-themed images.
I Spy Halloween Worksheet: Count and Write!
Children will practice counting Halloween-themed objects and writing the corresponding numbers.
Festive Math: Count and Add Objects Worksheet
This worksheet helps children practice counting objects and adding them together to find the sum.
Festive Math: Counting Hands and Heads Worksheet
This worksheet helps children practice their counting skills by counting the number of hands and heads on different festive figures.
Navaratri Dance Count: A Fun Counting Worksheet for Kids!
This worksheet helps children practice their counting skills by counting the number of dancers in the images.
Big and Small Fish Counting Worksheet for Preschoolers
This worksheet helps children practice counting and differentiating between big and small objects.
Roll the Dice Addition Worksheet for Kids
This worksheet helps children practice basic addition skills by rolling dice and adding the numbers together.
Addition Worksheet: Count and Add Objects!
This worksheet helps children practice addition by counting objects and writing the sum.
Sheep's Barnyard Adventure: A Fun Counting and Movement Worksheet
This worksheet helps children practice counting from 1 to 50 and following instructions.
Skip Counting Adventure: Fill in the Blanks Worksheet for Numbers 2, 5, and 10!
This worksheet helps children practice skip counting by filling in the missing numbers in sequences of 2s, 5s, and 10s.
Subtraction Fun: Count and Subtract with Cute Animals!
This worksheet helps children practice subtraction skills by counting objects and writing the difference.
Addition Fun: Count and Add the Pictures Worksheet!
This worksheet helps children practice basic addition skills by counting objects and finding the sum.
C, D, E Letter Sounds Worksheet: Circle and Count!
This worksheet helps children recognize the letters C, D, and E and identify words that start with these letters. They will also practice counting.
Descending Order Worksheet: Numbers 31-99
This worksheet helps children practice arranging numbers in descending order, from the largest to the smallest.
Word Problems Worksheet: Practice Subtraction with Fun Pictures!
This worksheet helps children practice subtraction by solving simple word problems and using visual aids.
Let's Solve Word Problems! - Addition Worksheet for Kids
This worksheet helps children practice addition by solving simple word problems.
Time Telling Worksheet: What Time Is It? (3-5)
This worksheet helps children learn to read analog clocks and identify the correct time.
Above and Below Worksheet: Counting and Spatial Reasoning for Kids
This worksheet helps children understand the concepts of 'above' and 'below' while practicing counting skills.
The subtraction progression
Take-away with objects comes first: a group is shown, some are removed, the child counts what remains. Crossing out puts the same action on paper, with the child striking through the number taken away and counting the rest. Number lines introduce counting back, starting at the larger number and hopping left, and this is where the range within 10 is secured. Within 20 needs a different strategy, because counting back nine hops is slow and error-prone.
The strategy that works for larger differences is the link to addition. If 7 + 5 = 12 is known, then 12 − 5 = 7 follows without counting. Fact-family sheets (7 + 5, 5 + 7, 12 − 5, 12 − 7) make that link explicit and are the main content of the 6–7 range. Subtraction as finding the difference between two quantities (how many more does Ana have than Ravi?) is introduced alongside, since it is the meaning children find hardest.
- Age 4–5: taking away from 5, then from 10, with pictures; one less
- Age 5–6: crossing out, counting back on a number line, subtracting within 10, subtraction bonds
- Age 6–7: subtracting within 20, fact families, missing numbers (8 − ? = 3), finding the difference
How to use subtraction worksheets at home
Act every picture sum out first: put out the objects, remove the number being subtracted, and count what is left before writing. On crossing-out sheets, cross out from the right so the remaining pictures form a group seen at a glance. On number-line sheets, say the starting number, then count each hop aloud. Read the sum as a sentence ("eight take away three leaves five") so the vocabulary of minus, take away, less and difference attach to the same action. Five to eight problems per session is enough.
Common difficulties
Counting back is the usual stumbling block; children who cannot recite 10 down to 1 cannot subtract on a number line, so practice backward counting aloud before the sheet. Subtracting the small number from the large regardless of order (writing 3 − 8 = 5) shows the child sees the numbers rather than the action, and needs more take-away with objects. A child who adds instead of subtracts when the sign changes needs mixed sheets, where the operation must be read each time.
Frequently asked questions
What subtraction should a child know by the end of 1st grade?
By the end of 1st Grade, Year 2 or Class 1, around age 7, a child is expected to subtract within 20 using strategies such as counting back, making 10 and related addition facts, to recall subtraction facts within 10 from memory, to solve word problems involving taking away and finding the difference, and to find a missing number in a subtraction sentence. Common Core lists these under 1.OA.B.4 and 1.OA.C.6.
Should children learn addition or subtraction first?
Addition first, but not far ahead. Joining groups is easier to see and count than removing them, so picture addition usually starts a few months before picture subtraction in Pre-K, Reception or LKG. Once both are underway they should be practiced together, because subtraction within 10 and 20 is best learned as the reverse of known addition facts rather than as a separate set of facts to memorize.
Why does my child find subtraction harder than addition?
Three reasons. Counting backward is less practiced than counting forward, so number-line subtraction is slower. The answer to a subtraction is what is left, which cannot be counted until the action is done, whereas addition leaves everything visible. And subtraction has two meanings, taking away and finding the difference, that look the same on paper. Object work, backward counting practice and fact-family sheets each address one of these.
What is the difference between take away and difference?
Take away removes part of a group and asks what remains: 7 biscuits, eat 3, 4 left. Difference compares two groups and asks how many more one has: Ana has 7, Ravi has 3, Ana has 4 more. Both are written 7 − 3 = 4, but the second is harder because nothing is removed. Take away is taught first in Kindergarten, Reception and UKG; difference is added in 1st Grade, Year 1 to 2 and Class 1.
How can I help my child subtract without counting on fingers?
Link every subtraction to an addition the child already knows. If they know 4 + 6 = 10, then 10 − 6 = 4 needs no counting. Fact-family sheets practice this, and subtraction bonds (the pairs within 10) become as automatic as addition bonds. For within 20, teach subtracting to 10 first (13 − 5 as 13 − 3 − 2). Fingers fade as recall grows; they should not be forbidden before the facts are known.
Are the subtraction worksheets free to download?
Yes. Every subtraction sheet downloads as a watermarked PDF at no cost after you create an account, up to five a day. A yearly subscription (₹1000 or $20) removes the watermark and daily limit across the library of more than 1,000 worksheets and all printable packs. Sheets are set up for both A4 and US Letter paper.
Written by
Hemsweta Jain · Teacher Cheena
MBA and Early Childhood Educator, teaching since 2014 · Founder of RaisoActive, Mumbai
Written and reviewed by Hemsweta Jain (Teacher Cheena), who designs every RaisoActive worksheet.
Last reviewed
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