▸ Why It Matters
This worksheet's 14 problems are built around one specific moment: the instant a sum "crosses over" 10. Every problem here — 9+2, 8+5, 7+6, and so on — lands between 11 and 13, so your child gets repeated, low-stakes practice with exactly the same tricky transition each time. Unlike sums that stay under 10, these require noticing that the ones digits alone add up to more than ten. Recognizing that crossing point is the direct foundation for carrying in multi-digit column addition, which your child will formalize with written notation in later grades. Children who skip straight to memorizing "9+4=13" without noticing the crossing moment often struggle later when carrying requires them to consciously track that extra ten. Slowing down here pays off well beyond this single page.
▸ Getting Started
Have your child say the crossing moment out loud as it happens: for 9+4, count "...9, 10 — crossed over! — 11, 12, 13." Naming the crossing point specifically, rather than just landing on the final answer, builds awareness of exactly where and why the number got bigger than 10. You can also try starting from the larger number and counting on with fingers, or bridging through ten by asking, "How many more to make 10? What's left after that?" For 8+5, that means 8 needs 2 more to reach 10, leaving 3, so the answer is 13. Rotating between these approaches keeps the activity fresh.
▸ If They Get Stuck
Use two ten-frames (or two rows of 10 boxes) side by side — fill the first completely, then start filling the second with whatever's left over. Seeing one full frame plus a partial second frame makes "crossing 10" visually unmistakable. Small counters, buttons, or even cereal pieces work well for filling the frames. If your child still hesitates, try covering the first ten with a hand or a card so only the "extra" amount is visible — this isolates the part that determines the final digit and often resolves confusion faster than counting alone.
▸ Praise Points
Praise explicitly noticing the crossing point: "You said 'that's where it crossed over 10' — naming that moment is exactly the awareness that makes carrying make sense later." Also celebrate persistence on problems that take a second try, and point out patterns your child discovers on their own, like noticing that swapped problems such as 7+6 and 6+7 always give the same answer. That kind of observation shows real number sense forming, not just memorization.
🎯What This Worksheet Builds
This worksheet's 14 problems all land in the 11-to-13 range, such as 9+2, 8+5, and 7+6, deliberately targeting the exact moment a sum tips over 10. Rather than just producing an answer, your child practices recognizing and bridging that crossing point — counting on past ten, or filling one ten-frame before starting a second. This repeated exposure to the same transition builds the number-bridging skill that later becomes formal carrying in multi-digit addition, so it's worth taking slowly rather than rushing to the answer.
👉Next Step
Once all 14 of these crossing-10 sums feel automatic and your child can explain the bridging strategy without hesitation, move on to Addition Practice 10, which mixes small sums that stay under 10 with larger ones that cross over. That mix forces your child to judge on the fly which strategy — direct recall or bridging through ten — each individual problem actually needs, which is a more advanced skill than solving crossing-10 problems alone.