Activities! Bugs! (the very Best, of course), Less! (and More, too), Jellybeans! (but How Many?) and...Percy Listens Up!
The Stuart J. Murphy Activities Newsletter comes out every other Wednesday, filled with selections from a vast and wonderful archive of Early Math & Early Childhood Ed activities.
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Hello!
Percy sure looks like a “scary monster” sliding down the slide at Stay and Play Park!
It doesn’t look safe, does it? In the I See I Learn story, Percy Plays It Safe, Percy learns the hard way that “safe monsters” have more fun. First, his friend Freda tells him in no uncertain terms he’s no fun to play with any more. Then his daddy lays down the law: “Play safe, or we’ll have to go home!”
Fortunately, Percy learns how to be a safe monster and gets to stay and play with his friends. While the story’s focus is on playground safety, a Health and Safety Skill, it also teaches the importance of listening, a Social Skill— and the subject of this week’s featured book, Percy Listens Up.
Each of the 16 stories in the I See I Learn program teach a different Social, Emotional, Health & Safety or Cognitive Skill, but there is always overlap. That’s the idea! Young children learn many things at once.
In the video below on How to Read and I See I Learn Storybook, I focus on Camille’s Team, a story about cooperation. But it also about listening, planning and being a good friend. When children listen to each other, they can work together!
This week’s three featured MathStart stories are:
The Best Bug Parade! (comparing sizes)
More or Less (comparing numbers)
Betcha! (estimating)
These stories, of course, all focus on mathematical skills, but they are also about friendship, logic and, well, jellybeans, too!
Your friend, who really loves jellybeans!
Stuart
Mathstart is a series of 63 storybooks organized into three levels for Pre-K through Grade 4. Each story teaches a different mathematical skill.
You can buy individual books, sets by level, or a complete library! Here is list of where to find MathStart books!
• Level 1, Pre-K/ Kindergarten:
Best Bug Parade (comparing sizes)
In Ladybug's garden, everything is relative. Who's big? Bigger? Biggest? Long, longer, longest? Short, shorter, shortest? Line up! It's time for the best bug parade of all.
Comparing sizes is a simple form of classification and is necessary for the development of measurement skills.
• Level 2, Kindergarten / Grade 1:
More or Less (comparing numbers)
Mr. Shaw, the principal of Bayside School is retiring, so all the students and teachers, and family and friends are having a picnic in his honor. There are lots of game booths, and the most popular is "Let Eddie Guess Your Age!" Eddie, blindfolded and sitting on a chair over a large tub of water, can figure out how old someone is by asking a few key questions: "Is you age less than 10?" "Yes." "More than 7?" "Yes." "It is an even number?" "No." "Then you're 9 years old," says Eddie triumphantly. If Eddie has to ask more than 6 questions, he gets dunked.n Find out whether Eddie can swim!
Comparing numbers is an important part of the understanding the mathematical concepts of "greater than" and "less than,"and for developing skills for making logical guesses.
• Level 3, Grades 2 - 4:
Betcha! (estimating)
At stake: two free tickets to the All-Star Game. And all you have to do is guess the correct number of jelly beans in a jar at the Planet Toys store. One particularly smart boy has an idea: Why guess when you can estimate? He plays a game with his buddy as they head over to the store on the bus. With four people per row, 10 rows, and a few folks standing in the aisle, he estimates that there are 43 people on the bus. "I didn't even need a pencil," he boasts.
Knowing how to estimate is an essential skill that helps children determine approximate totals as well as check the reasonableness of their solutions to problems.
I See I Learn is a series of 16 stories that follow the adventures of the children in Miss Cathy’s class at Ready, Set Pre-K in See-and-Learn City (see map).
Each story focuses on a different social, emotional, health & safety and cognitive skill important for success in school and in life. For Pre-K / Kindergarten.
20% off on book sets on the I See I Learn store!
Percy Listens Up (listening)
Percy loves to play. Sometimes this means that he forgets to listen to his teachers or his mommy. He misses out on fun in school and at the pool. But see what always makes Percy listen!
Listening shows respect for what other people have to say. Careful listening helps children understand directions, learn new things, be safe, and have more fun.
Listen up, everyone!
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Do you have a story or a question? Please send me an email!