Activities! Doubling, Halves, Subtracting 2-Digit Numbers & (drumroll...) Building Confidence!
Activities! Doubling, Halves, Subtracting 2-Digit Numbers & (drumroll...) Building Confidence!
Every other Wednesday, we post selections from our vast archive of Early Math & Early Childhood Ed activities.
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Hello!
This week we have a little bit of a theme going on with our MathStart selections around the number 2.
Double the Ducks is a story about doubling numbers (and making a new friend, too!). Give Me Half! is about understanding half-ness. Once a child understands halves, fractions are easy. This story was inspired by my own two children. Understanding halves was very important in the Murphy household! So was (is) swimming. And everybody knows that the best place to learn about subtracting double-digit numbers is at a Shark Swimathon, right?
Our featured I See I Learn story is Good Job, Ajay!, which is about the important skill of building confidence. Whether a child believes she can or can’t do something, she is usually right. Having the confidence to try and, if needed, to try again and again is important to success in school and also in life. You can do it, Ajay!
As for me, I need brush up on doubling numbers. I think I can do it. I am pretty sure you can do it, too.
Why don’t we give a try!
Stuart
MATHSTART
Mathstart is a series of 63 storybooks organized into three levels for Pre-K through Grade 4. Each story teaches a different mathematical skill.
This week, one of our favorite people, Paula Darnell, and the amazing team at Books by the Bushel, put together the “Stuart J. Murphy Collection” for my birthday this week. Wow! Check it out!
• Level 1, Pre-K/ Kindergarten: Double the Ducks (doubling numbers)
The young cowboy has his two hands full with five little ducks. They need three sacks of food and four bundles of hay. And when they each bring home a friend, it's twice as much work. For 10 little ducks, he needs double the food, double the hay and double the hands!
The first step in mastering basic addition is adding a number to itself (e.g. 3+3)
• Level 2, Kindergarten / Grade 1: Give Me Half! (understanding halves)
When a boy tries to eat a whole pizza without sharing half with his sister, it's not pretty. Of course, she isn't too keen on sharing her juice or cupcakes. With a little adult prodding, however, they soon learn the benefits of sharing and split everything in half, including clean-up chores.
Recognizing that half means one of two equal parts leads to understanding fractions.
• Level 3, Grades 2 - 4: Shark Swimathon (subtracting two-digit numbers)
The Ocean City Sharks swim team—Gill, Fin, Stripes, Tiny, and the hammerhead twins, Flip and Flap—really want to go the state swim meet, but they're short on funds. If they can swim 75 laps over the next four days, the local newspaper will sponsor them. The first day they swim a total of 14 laps (75 - 14 = 61). The next day they do a little better with 17 laps (61-17 = 44) But will they make their goal?
Learning to subtract 2-digit numbers with and without regrouping prepares children for subtracting larger numbers.
I SEE I LEARN
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. 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.
• Good Job, Ajay! (building confidence)
Ajay wants to throw a ball straight and far. He tries, but he just can't do it. Then his friends remind Ajay how he learned to do other things. See what happens when they cheer him on.
Having confidence is critical as young children try new things, face new challenges, and attempt to reach higher goals.
Help your child take on something new!
* edición en español
English 8.5 x 11 Español 8.5 x 11
English 11 x 17 Español 11 x 17
Click here for where to find I See I Learn books
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