Activities: Lizards! Frogs! Tallying! And a Picnic!
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Activities: Lizards! Frogs! Tallying! And a Picnic!
Every other Wednesday, we post selections from our vast and wonderful archive of Early Math & Early Childhood Ed activities.
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Hello!
I am so excited. Freda just invited me to a picnic! Nobody plans a picnic better than Freda. All the kids from Ready, Set, Pre-K will be there, along with Pickle, Emma’s green bulldog. Do you like picnics, too?
This week our three MathStart books are:
Leaping Lizards (counting by 5s & 10s)
Tally O’Malley (tallying)
Ready, Set, Hop! (building equations))
And our featured I See I Learn book is:
Freda Plans a Picnic (sequencing)
Freda organiza una merienda (secuencia)
Be sure to check out the video of me reading the story.
Now, let’s get to all those activities!
—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.
Here is list of where to buy MathStart books!
• Level 1, Pre-K/ Kindergarten
Leaping Lizards (counting by 5s and 10s)
To put on “The Fifty Leaping Lizards Show!,” you need fifty star-struck leaping lizards. Where will they all come from? The first five are found lounging in bunk beds, but the next five arrive in theatrical style, riding unicycles and juggling. The next five are speed-demons in race-cars, followed by five more in a hot-air balloon. Colorful graphics keeps track of the count, first by showing how counting by 5s works, and then showing how counting by 10s is related: Kids can easily see how each group of 10 lizards divides into two groups of 5. Will there be enough lizards by show time?
Counting by 5s and 10s is an important skill that helps children master multiplication facts, tell time, and count money.
• Level 2, Kindergarten / Grade 1:
Tally O’Malley (tallying)
The O'Malleys are driving to the beach for vacation. Eric, Bridget, and little Nell are getting bored in the back seat, so Mom suggests a Tally game. They decide to count cars on the highway. Each of the kids picks a color—silver for Eric, blue for Bridget, and red, as always, for Nell—while Mom sets the timer. Eric trounces the competition and gets to wear the Shamrock medal. And his sister dubs him "Tally O'Malley!" But will he be able to hang on to the title when they tally t-shirt colors while waiting in line for ice cream, or tally train cars? Tally marks are a useful tool for children to keep track as they count, and for data collection.
Grouping tally marks also reinforces counting by fives.
• Level 3, Grades 2 - 4:
Ready, Set, Hop! (building equations)
Who's the better hopper? Matty, the tall frog? Or Moe, who's just plain big? Only a hopping contest can settle the matter. It takes Moe only five hops to make it to the big rock. Matty needs two more hops. So how many hops did Matty take? (5 hops + 2 hops = ?). The happy hoppers keep going until—splash!—they're in the pond.
Knowing how equations are built is central to children's learning how to interpret and write number sentences.
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.
Here is list of where to buy I See I Learn books!
20% Discount for Sets of 16 books at the I See I Learn Store!
Freda Plans a Picnic (sequencing)
Freda's mom says she can invite her friends to picnic. There is so much to do, from packing the picnic basket to cleaning up. All the steps add up to a fun-filled time!
The ability to recall events in proper order–what happens first, what comes next, and what occurs last is important for story comprehension, mathematics, following directions, planning, and other life skills.
8.5 x 11 PDF
11 x 17 PDF
Freda organiza una merienda (secuncia)
La mamá de Freda le dice que puede invitar a sus amigos a una merienda. Hay tantas cosas que hacer, desde empacar la cesta con la comida hasta recoger y limpiar. ¡Todo es parte de la diversión!
La habilidad de recordar los pasos en orden - que pasa primero, lo siguiente, y lo que pasa al final - es muy importante para la comprensión de cuentos, matemáticas, seguir las instrucciones, organizar, y otras destrezas de la vida.
Do you have a story or a question? Please send me an email!